The Will to Survive
by Fanofeverything101
Summary: *Starts in 3x08* When Tom wakes up from the dream controlled by Karen, she makes him an offer, Anne and Lexi, for Hal. While Tom refuses, insisting there is another way to save them, Hal goes behind his father's back to save his family. When he is found, nothing will be the same. *Few changes in 3x08 and 3x09, then goes AU*
1. An Insane Offer

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing.

 **AN** – So this story came to my mind when drewingupmylife told me about how the writers were thinking about Karen asking for Hal in exchange for Anne and Lexi. I will try to post at least once a week, but if I get behind, I apologize in advance. So, this chapter starts in 3x08, Strange Brew, right after Tom wakes up. It then continues to 3x09, but I skipped a lot because the overall plot in that episode stays the same in this story. It will change a lot later on though. Please review, and…

 **Enjoy!**

Tom screamed himself awake, suddenly aware of something attached to his face, covering his eyes. He immediately lifted his hands and pulled it off, and saw that it was connected to a machine that sat behind him.

The former President sat up on the metal table he was laying on, quickly spying Karen, standing a few feet away with a thoughtful look on her face. He moved to attack her, but two skitters that Tom didn't notice grabbed his arms, and pulled him back.

"I thought you would've managed to wake up sooner. I guess you really must've missed your life before the war." Karen commented, coming over to the table.

"Look Tom, I don't want to make this difficult. I'm actually trying to help you." Karen told him, her voice sounding like she cared. Tom knew it was a lie.

"By kidnapping Anne and Lexi? Where are they?" Tom demanded, still struggling against the skitters' grip.

"They are fine. And you can have them back, once you give me something." Karen told him, crouching down so she was somewhat eye-level with him.

"I'm not telling you anything about the Volm plan." Tom knew that had to be what she was after. That was the point of the dream, she wanted to know where they were going to attack, but she surprised him with her response.

"No Tom. I don't really care that much about where you're going to attack. I want Hal." Karen paused, letting Tom process her words. When she saw the shocked expression, she continued, "It's a simple exchange. Give me Hal, and I'll give you Anne and Lexi."

"You're telling me you took Anne and my daughter because you wanted Hal? Why the h*ll didn't you take him when you had him controlled? You could've easily done it, and it would've been quite a while until we realized what happened, as we didn't know you where controlling him." Tom pointed out, horror mixing with confusion at what Karen was telling him. The skitters let him go, seemingly at ease now that Tom appeared to be too confused and stunned to attack their boss.

"I didn't take Anne and Lexi to get Hal. I had a different plan, but there were still pieces I needed to put together. But the minute I realized that you killed the probe I planted inside him, I had to improvise. I have all the pieces I need, except one person. I don't need Anne, and I can do without Lexi, if I get Hal instead."

"For what? Why do you need either of them?" Tom asked, anger and frustration making itself known in his tone.

"Oh Tom, you should know I never lay down all my cards on the table. The only thing you need to ask yourself is this, who will you give up? Anne and your daughter, or your son?"

"How do I know just going to kill them all?" Tom asked, hoping to stall long enough to find a way out.

"I am not the one who almost killed Hal when you took the bug out, that was you. And I didn't tell him to shoot himself, that was all him. Tom, I never intentionally hurt Hal. And killing Anne would be a waste of time and Lexi, well I could still use her. It's a simple exchange, Tom." Karen stood back up, and started walking around the table, as though she was an animal circling her prey. It was then Tom spotted an opening. He could see the night sky, and its reflection on water.

"You're outta your mind."

"Keep in mind who has control in this situation. You are my prisoner, I have your girlfriend and daughter in custody, and I control all the skitters, Mechs, and beamers on the West Coast." Karen reminded him, as she walked away from the table, her back to Tom. That was all he needed.

Without a second thought, Tom pushed himself of the table and ran for the opening. He didn't even stop to look down to see where or what he'd be landing on. By a stroke of fate, he landed in water.

He swam to the surface, then headed for shore, away from what he now saw to be a tower, like the one they had tried to blow up almost two years ago. Once Tom got to the shore, he started walking. As he headed down the streets, he realized he was in Boston. Back where it all began.

Tears started flooding his eyes and he fell to the pavement. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about Karen's offer. Lexi was only a baby, who knows what Karen would do to her, she already changed her DNA. And Anne, apparently, Karen had no need for Anne, so why would she keep her alive? But, he couldn't let her have Hal either. This was a choice he couldn't, and wouldn't make. He would find a way to save them, without taking Karen's offer. And when he did, Karen would pay.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

It took over a week to get back to Charleston. He was immediately greeted by his sons and Weaver once word had gotten to them.

"Did you find them?" Matt asked.

"No, Karen still has them. But they're alive, and we will find them." Tom's voice left no room for argument. He went into the building with Weaver and was in the process of telling him that Karen was in Boston, and that is where they should strike, when the bomb went off.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom and Hal watched as Lourdes came too, and based on her struggling, it was obvious the bug was in control. She was still lying strapped down on the gurney, but now was in a private room that was guarded. Tom and Hal were the only ones in the room with her.

"Karen must be pretty desperate if she actually had you bomb the place." Tom thought aloud. Lourdes stopped her struggles, and looked at the father and son, a smile coming across her face.

"Oh, she's not desperate at all Tom. She still has Anne and Lexi, does she not? She is always one step ahead. You still have your precious Volm plan, and she still has your daughter and girlfriend. You will never catch up to her, even if you do accept her deal." Lourdes sneered.

"What deal?" Hal asked. He remembered his Dad telling him and his brothers that Karen had captured him, and he escaped, but he made no mention of a deal though.

"Nothing." Tom told him, not looking at his son. He decided before he even arrived in Charleston that he would not let anyone know about what Karen had told him. He would not let them know that a deal was even possible.

"Oh, you didn't tell them, did you? Not even Hal? And here I thought you knew Hal could make his own decisions." Lourdes threw her words in Tom's face.

"Dad, what is she talking about?" Hal asked more forcefully. Tom turned his head to look at his son. He knew there wasn't any way that Hal was going to let this drop. Not anymore. He had heard too much. Tom had to tell him.

Hal was about to ask again, when his father completely turned around, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room. Tom didn't let go of him until they entered another room where they were alone. He practically pushed Hal inside and shut the door, but he didn't turn around to look at him.

"Dad, what is going on with you. You have been acting weird ever since you got back this morning, and what the heck was Lourdes talking about?" Hal was getting frustrated by his father's lack of response.

"Hal, please, let it go." Tom's voice took Hal by surprise. It was desperate, and pleading, which only made Hal want to know even more.

"Dad, tell me." Tom finally turned around to look at his son, and Hal saw that his father's eyes were full of tears.

"Right before I escaped, Karen, she, she offered me a deal. She would release Anne and Lexi, if I gave her something in return." Tom informed him. He hoped that Hal wouldn't push, but that hope died instantly.

"What does she want?" Hal came closer to his Dad, eyes full of sympathy, knowing that whatever this deal was, it was apparently very difficult to think about.

"You. She wants you." Of all the things Hal expected Tom to say, that was not one of them. Hal took a step back, and put his hand on the wall to help hold himself up. His legs started shaking, threatening to buckle.

"What?" Hal asked once he found his voice. He looked back up at his Dad, and knew why he had been acting so weird. He found himself in a position where he literally had to chose between two of his kids, which one would go home, and which one would be taken.

Tom stared at his son. The last time he had seen Hal pale that fast was when he found out his mother was dead. Tom came over and put his hands on Hal's arms to hold him up and to get his attention.

"Hal, listen to me. Forget about what I just told you, okay? Cause I'm not taking the deal. We will find Anne and Lexi, but I am not going risk losing you. Do you understand? We will find them without Karen, and when we do, we will get payback. I promise. Do you understand?" Tom told him. Hal nodded, though he didn't really meet his father's eyes.

"Look at me." Tom practically yelled. Hal lifted his head and stared into his father's eyes. They were filled with desperation and fear.

"Do you understand?" Tom repeated his earlier question. Hal nodded, and Tom let go. He backed away from Hal and ran his hands over his face.

"Not a word about this, to anyone." The Mason patriarch ordered, and again Hal nodded. Tom then lift the room without another word.

Hal found a chair in the corner of the room and sat down. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach and was now struggling to breathe, for the second time that day. he didn't know how long he sat there, until he heard a knock on the door.

He looked up in time to see Maggie enter the room. The minute she saw him, she smiled, but then her face grew concerned when she saw his expression.

"Hey. You okay?" Maggie asked. Hal forced a smile, and nodded as he pushed himself up off the chair.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just been a long day." Hal lied as he approached her. He lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers in a quick kiss. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Everything is fine." Hal told her.


	2. A Deal Struck

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing

 **AN** – So this chapter takes place in 3x10, after they get back from destroying the tower in Boston. In this version, the Volm are not trying to transport them to Brazil, and are willing to work with them if it works in their favor. This chapter is shorter than the rest.

 **Enjoy!**

Hal laid on the bed beside Maggie, her back up against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her. Ever since that day when his Dad told him about the deal, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. _What was Karen up to? Why did she want him?_

"Hal?" Hal jumped a little at the sound of Maggie's voice. He had thought she was asleep.

"Yeah?" Hal said.

"Are you alright?" She asked, turning around in his arms to face him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hal told her, moving his arm so he could rub her shoulder.

"Are you sure? You've been acting a little weird ever since the explosion." Maggie pressed.

"I'm just worried about Anne and Lexi." Hal answered. It wasn't the whole truth, but it was enough for Maggie. She nodded, then looked up at him.

"Don't worry, we'll find them."

"I know." Hal responded, and gave her a peck on her forehead before asking, "You know I love you, right?" Maggie suddenly looked concerned and confused.

"Yeah, I know. Are you sure everything's alright?" Maggie questioned. Hal smiled at her.

"Everything's fine. I promise." Hal pressed his lips against hers, and pulled her closer to him. He needed to put her mind at ease, and wanted the last memory she might have of him to be a good one, not of them fighting. And wanted to remember the feeling of her in his arms.

He had made his decision almost immediately after his Dad confessed about what happened when Karen captured him. There was no way he was going to let Karen have Anne and his little sister. They were part of his family, and he would do whatever it would take to find them.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal waited until Maggie's breathing evened out before he pushed himself off the bed as gently as he could. He didn't want to risk waking her. As he put his shirt on, and his boots, his eyes found his jacket. He picked it up, remembering when he had first gotten it.

 _"_ _Hal, Hal wake up." Hal opened his eyes to see his Mom kneeling beside where he laid on the floor in the basement._

 _"_ _Hey, what's up?" Hal asked._

 _"_ _Happy birthday." His Mom said with a smile, and handed him a gift bag, "You didn't think we'd forget, did you?"_

 _"_ _Well, considering our planet was invaded by aliens three days ago, I didn't think it was important." Hal told her as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Rebecca placed the gift on his lap, and waited for him to open it._

 _"_ _It's important to me, and your Dad, and your brothers." She told him, and Hal noticed that they were the only people in the basement._

 _"_ _Where is everyone?" Hal questioned._

 _"_ _Your Dad is making a food run. Thought the sooner we stock up the better, and he's picking up something. Ben took Matt upstairs to get their gift for you, though with the power out, I don't think you'll be able to enjoy it. Now, are you going to open your gift, or not?" Rebecca asked._

 _Hal stuck his hand through the paper wrap and grabbed something that was sitting at the bottom of the bag. He pulled it out, and saw it was a jacket, the camo jacket that he had been wanting for over a month, as his old jacket was falling apart._

 _"_ _This is awesome. Thanks Mom." Hal thanked as he slid the coat on, "Fits perfectly."_

Hal put the coat back down on the chair. That coat was the last thing he had gotten from his Mom. He didn't want to risk anything happening to it, and if Maggie woke up and saw it gone, she would definitely get suspicious.

So, Hal left the room without his jacket, without a word, or a second look. He didn't look at anyone, didn't say anything as he made his way out the building, out of the city and into the woods.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal found himself in the woods a few minutes later, in the same spot where he had met with Karen in his dreams, or at least, what he thought were dreams. He didn't have to wait very long. She appeared as though she had been expecting him.

"Hello Hal. I was wondering how long it would take for you, or you father to come and look for me." Karen said as she walked away from the tree that she had been hiding behind.

"You had to know my Dad would never have taken that deal." Hal insisted, trying to keep from attacking, even though he wasn't armed. Karen took a few steps closer, then started to walk around him, circling him.

"I know. But I also knew it wouldn't be long until you found out about my offer, and come and meet me yourself. I trust no one is with you?" Karen didn't give him a chance to answer before she continued, "Of course you're here alone. There is no way you would risk Anne's and your sister's life by trying to ambush me."

"I'll go with you, but only if you let Anne and Lexi go free." Hal told her. Karen stopped walking, and turned to face him.

"That was the deal I offered. I am a woman of my word. Come with me." The human Overlord turned on her heel and started walking in the direction away from Charleston. Hal hesitated for a moment, then followed her.

He followed her to a large clearing where an Espheni spaceship was waiting. Hal continued walking behind Karen until they reached the ramp that provided a way to get to the door. As she was about to step onto the ramp, Hal stopped in his tracks. Karen turned to look at him, a confused look on her face.

"You bring Anne and Lexi out, and let them go. Then, and only then, will I go with you." Hal explained to her. She looked somewhat annoyed, but nodded.

It didn't take five minutes before a skitter appeared at the top of the ramp with Anne, and a little girl, probably only about six years old. Hal stared as the three of them walked down towards them, Anne holding the child's hand. Hal remembered Kadar telling them all about Lexi's DNA, and that if what Anne had been saying was true, then it was possible that Lexi could be aging at a faster rate. A much faster rate apparently.

"Hal? What are you doing here?" Anne was obviously not expecting him, nor did she understand what was going on. Lexi was clinging to her mother's side and looked at him, as though she was also trying to understand what was happening.

"I'm here for you guys." Hal said, "Made a deal. Charleston is just down that way," Hal pointed to the direction where they came from, "Go."

"What about you?" Anne asked.

"Don't worry about me. Just go, both of you." Hal told her. Anne looked like she wanted to argue, but turned her gaze to the little girl. She looked back at Hal, then started walking away, pulling Lexi along with her.

"Anne?" Hal called out. Anne stopped and turned back to Hal.

"Tell my Dad that this was my choice, that it wasn't his fault." Anne looked confused, but nodded and the two continued on their way.

Karen waited until Anne and Lexi were out of sight before she turned her attention back to Hal.

"I have kept my end of the deal. Are you ready to keep yours?" Karen asked. Hal looked up at her, and nodded. She held out her hand, and he took it, flinching at how cold it was. But he followed her up the ramp towards the ship without looking back.


	3. Whatever It Takes

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing.

 _Five months later…_

"All, blow it up Matt." Tom said through the walkie talkie, looking at the abandoned warehouse that was crawling with skitters from behind his spot in the trees.

"You got it Dad." Matt's voice replied. A few seconds later, Tom watched the building exploded.

Tom, and the soldiers who were with him made their way out of hiding, and started shooting at all the skitters running away. Luckily, most of them were still in the building, so it didn't take long to finish them off.

Once the skitters were dead, Tom found Matt and Ben by the trucks helping other soldiers bring in the harnessed kids found in the area.

"Nice job boys." Tom said, looking at the faces of the Espheni slaves.

"Don't bother. We already checked. Hal's not here." Ben informed him, knowing exactly what his Dad was doing. Tom took a frustrated breath, trying to keep calm when all he really wanted to find a skitter that was still alive and strangle it with his bare hands.

"Let's get out of here then. Still a lot more places we can check." Tom told them, and turned around before Ben could point out that they had already checked most of the places where the Espheni had made their bases in the area.

Tom climbed into the passenger seat of one of the trucks while Weaver sat down behind the wheel.

"You okay?" Weaver asked, looking at his friend with concern.

"Five months. It's been five months, and no sign of him." Tom said dejectedly. Weaver put his hand Tom's shoulder in a sign of comfort.

"We'll find him Tom." Weaver encouraged, before putting both of his hands on the wheel. He started the truck, waited until everyone else was packed in, and they headed back to Charleston.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal ran through the forest. Away from the burning building he had come from, away from the skitters, and away from Karen. He hoped she was in the building when it blew up. Maybe she was dead. He hoped so.

With his vision as blurry as it was, he was surprised at how far he was getting, and that he hadn't tripped on anything. He kept running, even though every step hurt. Even breathing hurt. Hal didn't think there was any part of his body that wasn't in some sort of pain. He kept moving though. He refused to be recaptured. There was no way he was going back.

Unfortunately, the pounding in his head, and his blurred vision got worse, and he fell to the hard ground. Hal just laid there for a few moments, waiting to get his senses back before he pushed himself up, only to fall back down.

Hal looked at his wrists. They were covered in dried, and fresh blood, running from the cuts he had gotten trying to escape. Hal brought his hand to the back oh his head, by his left ear where there was a cut that was also bleeding. He pushed against it, and let out a cry of pain.

 _Okay, not doing that again. Got to get up, got to keep moving._

Hal tried to get back up again, and managed to sit, but not to her feet. Spying a fallen tree, he dragged himself over to it, and leaned against the wooden log. Staying awake became too hard, and Hal let the darkness that he had taken refuge in many times in his period of captivity, come over him once again.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom entered the armory to find Maggie who was going through the weapons. For the last couple of weeks, Tom and Weaver decided to take her off any attacks and missions that they were going on. She had been doing everything she could to help them find Hal, but it all came to head when she collapsed from exhaustion three weeks ago.

Maggie immediately heard Tom enter the room, and dropped everything to confront him.

"Did you guys find him?" She asked, her face filled with hope. Regrettably, he shook his head.

"No, we didn't."

"It's been five months. Where on Earth could he be?" Maggie wondered, walking away from Tom to hide the tears that were starting to build up.

"He might not be on the planet at all. Karen might be keeping him on a spaceship, or maybe even on the other side of the world. We have no way of knowing." Tom pointed out.

"He could be dead, for all we know." Maggie replied. The Mason father went over to her, turned her around so he could look at her, and caught the tears she was trying to hide.

"As messed up, as insane, as cold as Karen is, you and I both know, she wouldn't kill him. She had many opportunities kill him, but she didn't. We will find him." Tom tried to get her to believe.

"Before he left, he asked me if I knew that he loved me. I said yes, but I never said it back. Why didn't I tell him?" Maggie questioned, looking down at the floor.

"He knows. He knows that you love him. Don't give up hope. We will find him, and we will get him home."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Cochise and his Volm comrades continued their way through the trees. They had just successfully burned down an Espheni outpost in small town in a state that the humans called New Jersey. They were currently making sure no Espheni had escaped, when Cochise noticed something on one of the bushes.

The Volm bent down to get a closer look at the shrubbery. It was red, glistened in the light, and looked wet. Cochise touched it, and brought it to his nose. He smelled it, and knew instantly what it was. It was human blood, and it was fresh.

A few more questions remained. Was the person who was bleeding harnessed? Where was the person? Was the victim still alive?

Cochise stood back up, and looked around for any other signs of the person. He quickly found a path of broken branches, and more drops of blood that went North. Cochise signaled the other Volm soldiers to come with him, and he followed the path.

The path ended not much farther then when Cochise picked it up. The dirt and mud looked as though someone had been lying in it. There were small pools of blood, and hand prints. Then, Cochise saw a hand laying limply on the ground.

The alien immediately moved to see who it was, only to get a shock. There, sitting against a fallen log, bleeding from various spots on his body, was Hal Mason.

"Hal Mason?" Cochise called out, coming to sit beside the eldest Mason child. He put his hand on Hal's shoulder, and shook it gently, but Hal didn't move. He put his head down by the young man's face, and heard his breathing.

"Chichauk?" Cochise turned at the sound of Shak-Chic's voice calling for him.

"He is alive. We must get him to Charleston."


	4. Can You Hear My Screams

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing.

 **AN** – Thought I'd post this chapter a little earlier. Warning, chapters are going to start getting a lot longer. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are most welcome!

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"TOM!" Tom turned around to see Weaver running through the crowd over to him.

"What is it Weaver? I got to head to board room to discuss our next attack." Tom said.

"We've spotted a Volm ship heading this way. And it's moving fast." Weaver informed the President.

"But we're not expecting to meet up with Cochise for another week." Tom reminded his friend.

"I know." Weaver acknowledged. Something was wrong. Tom and Weaver ran through the building towards the door.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom tried to make his way through the crowd that had formed outside in the makeshift courtyard. Matt was already out there, hanging out there with a few friends when he had seen the Volm ship heading their way.

"Dad! What's going on?" Matt asked, following in his father's footsteps.

"I have no clue." Tom answered. The ship landed in the center of the courtyard as people scrambled to get out of the way, yet stay close enough to see what was going on. The door to the ship open and Cochise came out.

"Good to see you my friend," Tom said as Cochise approached him, "but we were not expecting you for another week."

"I apologize for coming early, but I felt you would want to know. My comrades and I had destroyed another Espheni base earlier this morning, and we found him." Cochise explained.

"Him?" Tom questioned. He felt his hopes begin to rise, _is he talking about who I think he's talking about?_

Tom got his answer when Cochise's second, the Volm they called Shak, came out of the ship, carrying a human in his arms. Even though Tom could only see part of the person's face, he knew who it was.

"Hal!" Tom yelled, and ran towards his son, unaware of Matt right on his heels.

As Tom reached his eldest, he saw the blood that covered Hal practically from head to toe. The President shook his boy's shoulder, but Hal didn't stir at all.

"He is breathing, but he has not regained consciousness." Shak informed Tom.

"Somebody get a stretcher!" Tom ordered to no one in particular. He didn't even pay attention to the soldiers who obeyed the command. Once he saw that someone brought one over, he helped Shak lower Hal onto it.

Tom helped the soldiers carry his son into the building and towards the infirmary without saying anything to anyone, all of his thoughts on his boy lying unconscious on the stretcher. Matt also came around to Hal's side, and grabbed his big brother's hand, despite the fact that it was covered in blood.

Weaver was about to follow when he noticed Cochise still standing there, watching the events unfold. The Colonel went over to the alien.

"Thank you for finding him, Cochise. I know Tom is grateful too. Sorry he just ran off like he did but he's-"

"Of course, his first priority is his son. As it should be in this case. My comrades and I shall head over to our base. As we were planning to convene in a week, I see no need to head out again just to come back. Contact us when you can." Weaver nodded, and the Volm climbed back onto their ship and headed to their bunker that had been fixed since the bomb Lourdes planted exploded.

Weaver waited until they were gone before he turned to the crowd that had formed.

"Show's over! Everybody back to work!" Weaver ordered, and he went inside the building after his friend.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Maggie and Ben ran towards the infirmary. They were both in the cafeteria when they heard that a Volm ship was heading to Charleston. As they were on their way to investigate, they heard that Cochise had found Hal, and he was being taken to the infirmary.

They met up with Tom, Matt, and the soldiers who were carrying the stretcher Hal was lying on just before they reached the hospital.

"HAL!" Maggie cried out as she reached her boyfriend's side. Hal didn't stir at all, not even when Maggie grabbed his hand. Ben went around to the other side of his brother beside Matt.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked his father.

"I don't know." Tom replied and they entered the infirmary.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

As Anne finished wrapping the cut her patient had while smiling at Lexi, who was sitting on a chair while Lourdes entertained her with her stethoscope. Lexi had the buds in her ears while Lourdes was blowing in the chest piece.

Lexi giggled and said, "You're funny Lourdes."

The young doctor smiled at the little girl. When Anne and Lexi got to Charleston, after all the confusion and panic at realizing what happened with Karen and Hal, Lexi found her way to Lourdes's room.

Anne, Tom, and Weaver watched in shock and a little bit of horror as Lexi held out her hand and all the bugs crawled out Lourdes's head and onto the little girl's hand. She closed her fist and they all were crushed to dust. Every since then, Lourdes had formed a big sister bond with the child, which Anne was grateful for. While Ben and Matt were the perfect overprotective brothers, having a surrogate big sister made it easier for Anne, as with all of them being busy, with patients, and missions. It helped to have another person look out for the little girl.

The peaceful moment was interrupted when the doors burst open and Tom called her name. Anne looked up to see Tom, Matt, Ben, Maggie and two soldiers surrounding a stretcher. Anne handed the bandages over to a nurse and made her way over to her family with Lourdes who told Lexi to stay put.

"Oh my G*d!" Anne commented as she saw the figure on the stretcher. Hal, and he was covered in dried blood, bruises, and dirt.

"In here." Anne ordered, pointing to an empty room.

As soon as they moved Hal from the stretcher to the hospital bed, Anne ordered everyone out of the room expect for Lourdes and the two nurses, Teresa and Lisa, she called in to help.

"But Anne," Tom started to protest, but stopped at the look on Anne's face.

"I know you all want to stay, but we need space. You guys can wait outside." Anne told them. The family, very reluctantly, left the room, leaving her, Lourdes, and the two nurses with Hal.

Anne grabbed a pair of scissors and started to cut Hal's bloody and torn shirt off. She pulled off the fabric, she found many cuts and bruises covering his torso. Anne had Lourdes wipe off the blood so they could get a good look at how bad the injuries were, Teresa got rid of the shirt and Lisa started prepping an IV.

Grabbing her penlight, Anne turned it on, and opened Hal eyes with her fingers. His brown irises had almost no pupils, just like Ben's was when they rescued him from the skitters, maybe even worse. And the whites were so bloodshot that they were practically pure red. Suddenly, Hal jerked his head away.

"Hal?" Anne called out. She wondered if he was actually conscious. Hal started moving his head around, his eyes wide open. Then, he started pulling his arms away from Lourdes who was still cleaning off all the dirt and blood he was covered in, and Lisa who was getting ready to inject the needle for the IV.

"Hal, Hal I need you to listen to me. You're in Charleston, you're safe. I need you to stay calm, alright?" Unfortunately, Anne's words seemed to have the exact opposite effect. Hal started tossing around on the bed, and pushed Lourdes's arm away from him.

"Hal, I know you're scared, but we're trying to help you. You need to calm down." Anne tried to tell him, but it still didn't work. If anything, Hal got more aggressive.

"Should we sedate him?" Lourdes asked, trying to get a hold of one of Hal's flailing arms.

"We don't know what's in his system. We have no idea how it could react." The older doctor explained.

"Then should we restrain him?" One of the nurses, Lisa, asked. Anne looked at Hal's bloody wrists.

"Try to get some gauze and wrap his wrists, then get the soft restraints. I don't want to hurt him, or let him hurt himself." Anne told Lisa.

Everything went worse from there. Lisa and Teresa, managed to grabbed his arms, but holding them down was hard. Once Hal saw Lourdes bring in the restraints, he broke his one arm free, and actually landed a punch on Teresa's jaw. She instinctively let go of Hal's other arm and he pushed himself off the bed.

"Are you okay Teresa?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The nurse responded, and Anne turned her attention to her patient.

Hal had moved to the corner of the room, one arm around his knees, the other outstretched, as though he was trying to put a barrier between them. Anne slowly made her way over to him.

When she got within a few feet, Hal opened his mouth, "No, no, don't."

Anne felt a pang of guilt, pain, and sympathy rise up inside her. He was hurt, drugged and absolutely terrified. She could only imagine what he had been through, and she knew that if she hadn't tried to run from Charleston with Lexi in the first place, none of this would've happened.

"Lourdes, go get Tom."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom was pacing up and down the small stretch of hallway outside Hal's room. Maggie was leaning against the wall, while Ben and Matt were sitting in the chairs by the door. Lexi soon came over and sat on Ben's lap.

"What's going on?" She asked, her voice quiet, and full of confusion.

"Cochise found Hal, but he's hurt. Now your Mommy and Lourdes are taking care of him." Ben explained as best he could. Lexi had heard a lot about her oldest brother over the last five months, so she knew who he was, and what had happened, but she had yet to actually meet him.

Suddenly, the door opened and Lourdes stuck her head out.

"Tom, we need you, now." The Mason father didn't ask any questions. He just followed the young doctor into Hal's room, leaving his sons, and Maggie left to wonder what was going on.

When Tom entered the room, he quickly saw what the problem was, at least, a part of it. One of the nurses, Teresa had a bruise forming on her jaw, and his son wasn't in the hospital bed. He was on the ground in the right-hand corner of the room, arm outstretched to stop anyone from coming close. Lisa and Lourdes were standing by the bed while Anne was on her knees a few feet away from the young man.

"What happened?" Tom asked, coming over to Anne.

"He woke up, and completely freaked out. I managed to get a look at his pupils, he's been drugged." Anne explained, "I was thinking that maybe he might let you get closer to him."

Tom looked over at his oldest son. Hal still had his arm out, but his head was down, not looking at any of them. He went over to Anne and got down on his knees beside her.

"Hal? It's me, it's Dad." Hal slowly looked up at Tom, allowing the father to see the drugged yet terrified look in his eyes. Guilt and pain seemed to stab Tom in the chest at the look in Hal's eyes.

"D-Dad?" Hal's voice, though quiet, was filled with fear, confusion, yet a little bit hopeful at the same time. Tom smiled.

"Yeah, it's me. You're okay." Tom replied, and he slowly moved closer. Hal lowered his arm, and let his Dad approach him. As soon as Tom was right in front of Hal, he reached out his own arm, and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Hal flinched when Tom touched him, but instead of pulling away, he leaned forward and let his head rest against his Dad's shoulder. Tom immediately wrapped his arms around Hal, and held him close.

"Let's get you back on the bed, okay?" Tom suggested, but Hal instantly shook his head, and started muttering, "No, no, no."

"Okay, okay, kiddo. It's alright. We'll just stay here then. It's alright." Tom whispered in Hal's ear. He looked up at Anne who was still on her knees a few feet away. They both looked at the broken man in his father's arms, both desperately wanting to help him, but neither knew what to do.

As soon as Hal fell asleep, Tom looked back at Anne.

"What do we do now?" Tom asked the doctor.

"From what I could tell, he isn't seriously injured, just heavily drugged. I think for now, it's best to just let him sleep it off. We can examine him better when he's coherent." Anne decided. Tom nodded, then turned his attention back to the boy in his arms.

"But, as long as he's still, we could at least try to clean him up a little. Lourdes?" The other doctor brought over the bowl with water and cloth that she was using before Hal woke up and laid it on the floor by Tom.

"I think we're all good guys. Teresa, why don't you get some ice for that bruise. Lourdes and Lisa, you guys can go back to work. I'll be out soon to update Ben, Matt, and Maggie." Anne told the other doctor and nurses. They left obediently, while Tom and Anne continued watching Hal.

Tom pulled the bowl closer, grabbed the wet cloth and started wiping off the dried blood on Hal's neck. It exposed a cut at the base of Hal's head by his left ear. He then moved to wash his son's bloody wrists, exposing multiple gashes and rope burns.

"Oh, Hal. What did they do to you?" Tom wondered. Anne squeezed his shoulder, then headed out of the room to update Hal's brothers and Maggie.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben continued waiting with Maggie, and his brother and sister. His worry over Hal grew immensely after Lourdes called his Dad into the room. It wasn't long after that though, Lourdes and the other nurses came out. When Ben asked her what was going on, Lourdes told him that Anne would be out soon to explain everything, then she went back to work.

It was roughly half an hour all together since his Dad went into the room, when Anne finally come out to see them. Lexi immediately jumped off his lap and ran over to her mother. Anne bent down a little and wrapped her arm around the child's shoulders. Matt and Ben stood up and approached the doctor.

"How is he? What happened?" Maggie interrogated, also coming over to Anne.

"Well, it looks like he's going to be okay. No serious injury from what I could tell." Anne told them, much to their relief, but Maggie instantly found the flaws in her information.

"What do you mean 'looks like' and 'from what I could tell'?" Maggie pushed, desperate to know everything that was going on with her boyfriend.

"After you all left the room, I had cut off his shirt, had Lourdes start cleaning him up so I could get a look at his injuries, and had Lisa start an IV. Hal woke though, and started panicking. He punched Teresa in the face."

"What?" Matt commented, unable to comprehend that his brother would do something like that.

"Well, there is something else. I managed to look at his eyes before he started fighting. His pupils were smaller than pinpricks. He's been drugged. I doubt he was really aware of what was going on." The group fell silent at hearing that. Nobody really know what to think, or say. Finally, Maggie spoke again.

"Can we see him?" She asked.

"I think it's best if he has as few people as possible in the room right now. He's asleep, but I don't know how long it will be until the drugs where off. Too many people, could just agitate him more. But, he is going to be okay." Anne told them.

As much as they wanted to argue with her, they wanted Hal to get better more. If it was best to not see him just yet would help, then they would do it. That didn't mean they were going to leave though. Ben, Matt, and Maggie sat back down on the chairs, while Lexi followed her mother to the infirmary supply closet, where she was getting more medical supplies.

"Mommy?" Lexi called out as Anne started rummaging through the shelves.

"Yes sweetie." Anne replied.

"Do you think Hal will like me? He doesn't even know me, besides from when I was a baby, and that I'm part Espheni." Lexi asked. Anne stopped what she was doing, and crouched down so she was eye level with her daughter. She knew how hard it was for the little girl being part alien. She didn't have many friends as the parents and all the other adults were so wary of her. Besides her family, Jeanne, Lourdes, and Maggie were the only ones who would spend their time with her. Anne didn't even think about how Hal would react to his sister.

"I think Hal will love you. He already does, simply because you are his sister. He went with Karen to save you, and me. He might be a little different now, but I know he still loves you. It might not show at first, but it will. Don't worry." Anne explained to the child. Lexi nodded, then let her mother get back to work while she went back to her brothers.

 **AN** \- I know the ending part with Lexi is a little random, but I really wanted to put in how hard it would've been for Lexi and how much she would want to fit in and have people like her, especially her older brother. Hoped you all liked this chapter. My next update should be within a week at the latest.


	5. So Cold

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing. Sorry.

 **Enjoy!**

Maggie rummaged through the drawers in the dresser in the room she and Hal used to share before he left. All of his clothes, beside the ones he was wearing when he went to rescue Anne and Lexi, were still where he left him, not including a few shirts that she had stolen.

During the last few months, Maggie started wearing Hal's shirts when she went to bed. They still smelled like him, and it comforted her. Now that he was back of course, he would need them more then she would.

As Maggie grabbed some clothes to take back to the infirmary for her boyfriend, she spotted Hal's camo jacket hanging over the couch in the room. When she woke up to find Hal gone, and went to tell Tom, and learned what had happened, she had come back to the bedroom to realize that he left his coat behind.

Maggie went over to the chair and picked it up. She had been keeping it safe for him, hoping that he would come home, at least to get his jacket. Maggie put it back down, knowing Hal didn't need it just yet, and headed back to the infirmary.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

As Maggie entered Charleston's hospital, she found Anne, walking away from a patient with a clipboard in hand.

"Anne." The doctor turned her head when she heard her name called, and found Maggie walking towards her.

"I brought these, thought that he'd need them when he wakes up." Maggie explained as she handed Hal's clothes to her. Anne smiled and took them with her free arm. She was about to say something, when she caught the look on Maggie's face, before she lowered her head to look at the ground.

Anne knew that Maggie had been through a lot in the last few months. Between constantly searching for Hal, still fighting and taking part in most of the missions, only to get benched after pushing herself to hard, all the while constantly worried about Hal and furious with Karen. It had taken a toll on the fighter.

Now, Hal was back. He had been found, and was going to be okay, yet Anne wasn't letting her, or anyone else see him.

"Maggie, as soon as the drugs wear off, and he calms down, and is awake, I will let you guys see him, alright?" Maggie nodded, but didn't look up.

"The important thing to remember is, that he is okay. He is here with us, he is safe." Maggie looked up at Anne and gave her another nod, but Anne could still tell that she was fighting the urge to bust down the door and go see Hal for herself.

Anne reached over and squeezed Maggie's shoulder before she headed back to work. Maggie, on the other hand, headed back to the door. The same door that Hal was just on the other side of. She went to open it, but stopped herself just before she grabbed the doorknob. As much as she didn't want to, she obeyed Anne's instructions and sat down on the chairs in the hallway.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal slowly regained consciousness, but kept his eyes closed, terrified of what he would see. He barely remembered what had happened. He remembered an explosion, finding himself in the woods, then he was lying down with people holding his arms down, and had needles in their hands.

After breaking away from them, he thought he saw his Dad, and took comfort in his presence, though he knew he was dreaming. He had to have been. Karen had done this too many times. Made him hallucinate, think he was safe to get him lower his guard, then strapped him down to that table and continued doing who knows what to him.

The more Hal became aware of what was around him, the more realized that something was off. He was not lying down on a table, or bed. He was somewhat sitting upright, his head resting on something that was moving, and could hear someone's quiet breathing right by his ear.

He quickly concluded that he was lying against someone. He didn't know who, and the only way to find out, was to risk letting the person know that he was awake. So, very slowly, he opened his eyes.

Though his vision was lightly blurry, he could see he was in a very different room than Karen held him in. The room he was in greatly resembled one of the hospital rooms in Charleston. The bed was empty, and he was on the ground in the corner of the room. Slowly, Hal wrapped his right hand around his left wrist, and felt a bandage wrapped around it. He glanced down and saw that both of his wrists had been wrapped. Not caring about that at the moment, Hal gripped his left wrist and squeezed it. When the pain came, nothing changed, no image shifted, nothing suddenly appeared or disappeared, and Hal realized that this might actually be real.

"Hal?" Hal stilled at the sound of his father's voice, then slowly looked up. Sure enough, his Dad was there, holding him in his arms.

"Dad?" Tom smiled, and nodded. He pressed a kiss against Hal's forehead and pulled him closer.

"Yeah, kid. It's me." Tom assured him, and Hal let himself fully relax into his father's embrace.

"What happened?" Hal asked, confused as to how he got home, and as to why he was on the floor. He wasn't sure what all happened, and what had been real or not.

"Cochise found you in the woods, he brought you here. When Anne, Lourdes, and the other nurses were trying to check you over, you woke up and panicked You actually punched an nurse in the face. Then you crawled over here and wouldn't let anyone near, except me." As Tom explained, the memories came back, and he realized why he had done that. Everything that Anne and the others did reminded him of what happened when he was held hostage.

The door opened, and Hal felt panic rise up inside him. Tom immediately felt Hal tense in his arms. Even when they both saw that it was just Anne who entered the room, Hal didn't let himself relax. Tom couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Hal's mind that was making him so guarded.

"Hal, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Anne asked with a smile. She put down the clipboard and what looked like to be a pile of clothes she was carrying on the table beside the bed and walked over to them. The closer she came, the tenser Hal got.

"Do you remember what happened?" Anne questioned, slowing her speed. Once she was a few feet away from the father and son, she got back down on her knees in front of them.

Hal stared at her, completely poker-faced. He didn't really know what to think. The last thing he remembered was her giving orders to tie him to a bed and be stuck with needles. He had enough of that. Not to mention, in the hallucinations that Karen created, Anne was always the one standing over him with a scalpel, her face changing from hers to Karen's or to the harnessed kid's.

Anne's smile disappeared when she didn't get a response. Hal seemed to be staring right through her, as though trying to decide something. It become obvious that while he didn't appear to be under the drug's influence anymore, he still wasn't trusting her at all. Something had obviously happened that made him scared of her, or maybe just scared in general.

"Hal, do you know where you are?" Anne asked, thinking maybe it was too soon to try and get answers from him about what happened while he was held captive.

"In Charleston." Hal tried to sound positive, but he couldn't help but wonder if this was all just another hallucination, and he knew the unspoken question had slipped into his voice. Anne nodded, assuring him that he was right, and the smile returned to her face.

"Are you feeling better?" The doctor repeated her earlier question. Hal nodded, but didn't say anything. Anne pulled out her penlight and got ready to shine it in his eyes.

"Good, I'm going to turn this light on, and I want you to follow it with your eyes, okay?" Hal again nodded and Anne clicked the light on, shining it in his eyes.

At first, everything was going fine. It didn't look like Hal had a concussion, and his eyes were reacting normally, revealing that the drug had indeed worn off. After the third time of moving the light to the left though, Hal reacted.

Hal was fine. He followed the light obediently, then suddenly, everything faded away. He wasn't in the hospital room anymore. He was back in the warehouse, strapped to a table, with the bright light blaring down on him, while skitters were pushing on his chest and a harnessed kid approached him with a scalpel.

A small scream escaped his lips, and he jerked himself away from the light, inadvertently pushing himself farther into Tom's arms. Tom instinctively tightened his hold, not wanting Hal to hurt himself. Hal however, interpreted it differently. He thought that someone was trying to trap him, keep him still so they could inject more needles into him and he tried to pull away.

"Hal! Hal, listen to me. You're okay. You're okay. You're in Charleston, with me. You're safe, you're safe." Tom didn't know how many times he repeated that before Hal stopped fighting.

Anne had immediately turned off her penlight when she saw Hal react. She had hoped that Hal's reaction before when they first brought him in, was just due to his drugged state. His reaction now though just confirmed what she knew to be a possibility from the start, that whatever Karen had done, it affected him even in his coherent state.

Luckily, Tom got him calmed down before he punched someone again. When she looked at his face, though it was turned downward, she saw tears running down his cheeks, and he was panting for air.

Tom and Anne looked at each, both coming to the same conclusion. Hal's road to recovery was going to be a lot longer than they hoped it would be.


	6. Keeping Everything Inside

**Disclaimer** – I still own nothing. Sorry. This chapter is a little longer, I hope you all like it. Reviews are most welcome.

 **Enjoy!**

Hal once again, woke up to find himself in his father's arms. Unlike last time though, he was completely awake, and remembered exactly what had happened. Anne was checking his pupils with her penlight, and he remembered the light that was shining down on him when Karen had him tied to the metal table.

He still wasn't completely convinced that he wasn't still in that building, that he wasn't still tied down to the table. He couldn't help but feel like this was just another drug induced hallucination. But every single time he woke up, he woke up in the same room, with someone he had seen before. That was new.

Karen would manipulate the dream in a way that would make him lower his guard faster, including trying to find the people who he would be comfortable with showing his vulnerable side to. Hal was truly starting to feel like he was actually safe, and while the idea of letting his guard down scared him, he decided to let it play out and see what would happen, starting with letting his Dad know that he was conscious.

The young man looked up at his Dad, who was staring at him with a concerned look on his face. He gave the boy a small smile though when he saw his son was awake.

"How long was I out?" Hal asked.

"Not long. Around, half-an-hour?" Tom figured before asking a question of his own, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Sorry I panicked." Hal replied sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. You feeling better now?" Tom asked. Hal could hear the concern in his father's voice.

"Yeah, I think so." Hal didn't give a definite answer. While he was starting to trust that he was indeed safe, that this was all real, he wasn't ready to let his guard down just yet.

Hal pushed himself away from his Dad so he could sit upright. It was then that he noticed that Anne was still in the room, watching him with a concerned yet searching look, as though she was trying to figure something out. When she realized that he was watching her too, the look disappeared and she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Well, if you're feeling better, than are you ready to get off the floor and on to the bed?" Anne hoped that with the drugs apparently out of his system, he would be okay with getting off the floor where he had for some reason taken refuge.

Hal looked at her, then looked back to the bed. He couldn't exactly remember what it was that made him freak out anymore, all he could recall was what it reminded him of. As he looked at the hospital bed, trying to find what it was that threatened him, he saw the restraints that were still attached to the bed-rails. _Oh, that's it._

Anne waited for Hal's reaction. He had clearly heard her, and then turned his gaze to the bed. He was staring at it hard, as though he was trying to determine if it was a threat. Then, his face suddenly paled.

The doctor looked back to the bed, wondering what it was that he saw. It didn't take her as long as it did for Hal to see the straps. She remembered that Hal didn't actually become very aggressive until she had the nurses hold him down. And he didn't start fighting until they tried to restrain him to the bed. She remembered his bloody and rope burned wrists, sign of pulling against restraints.

Anne decided to take the attention from that and on to something else, and her eyes fell on the pile of clothes Maggie had given her. Anne went over to the table where she put them, grabbed them in her hand, and went over to Hal.

"Here, there's a bathroom just over there. Why don't you get changed?" Anne suggested, handing the clothes to the young man who actually let her get close this time.

Hal looked over the clothes, then up at the door Anne had pointed to. He looked back at his father, who gave him a reassuring nod. Hal slowly got to his feet, and made his way passed Anne and towards the bathroom.

The minute Hal closed the door, he looked in the mirror. He hadn't seen his reflection in five months, but it looked almost exactly as it did before he left, with a few minor changes. His skin was paler, he had dark circles under his eyes, a bruise on both his cheek and forehead, and a cut on his lip.

After inspecting his face, Hal turned his attention to the rest of his body. He had a few bruises on his ribs, and about three cuts that he could see. There was only one gash that was deep enough to require stitches and a bandage right in the middle of his ribcage on the right side. He figured Anne did that when he was out as he couldn't recall anyone stitching it up when he was awake. Pretty much all the dirt and dried blood had been washed off, which he also couldn't remember anyone doing but he didn't care.

Hal changed out of the clothes his was still wearing and into the ones Anne had given him. He recognized them as his own from before he left and wearing them again gave himself a sense of comfort, and yet, a sense of unease as well.

Looking back up at the mirror, Hal wrapped his right hand around his left wrist again, and squeezed as tightly as he could. He bit his lip to keep from gasping in pain, and kept his eyes on his reflection. The image in the mirror stayed the same, the person staring back didn't change, no Karen or skitter appeared in the background. This was real.

Hal let go of his wrist, and looked down. The bandage was now turning red. He had squeezed it so tightly that the cuts reopened. He had no idea how he was going to explain that. Hearing noises in the other room reminded Hal that his Dadand Anne were probably waiting for him, so he exited the bathroom.

Sure enough, Tom and Anne were waiting. His Dad was sitting on the bed, and Anne was standing by the table, both looking his direction before he even left the room. Hal looked over the bed and noticed that the restraints on the bed were gone. He looked over at Anne and she gave him a smile. Apparently, she had figured out what had made him so hesitant.

Hal went over and sat on the bed beside his Dad. Tom put his hand on Hal's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze as Anne came forward and stood in front of him.

"What happened here?" Anne asked, looking at his now bloody wrist. Hal shrugged, not giving her an answer. Anne went to the other end of the room where some medical supplies laid on the counter. She grabbed some antibacterial cream and a roll of bandages, then made her way back to her patient.

Hal was still sitting on the bed, though looked very uneasy. Anne held up what was in her hands and he relaxed ever so slightly. She wondered how long it would be before he stopped being so guarded. Though, she couldn't expect anything else really. He had probably kept himself guarded the entire five months he was gone. Stopping that would not be easy.

After Anne finished rewrapping Hal's wrist, she went back to the table, and looked at the syringe she had placed there yesterday when they first brought Hal into the room. While the drug appeared to be out of his system, as she expected after 15 hours, she still wanted to run a blood test to be sure. Problem with that was, she had no idea how Hal was going to react, so she turned around to face him with her hands empty.

"Hal, do you feel okay? Like, is your head hurting, do you think anything's broken?" She tried to go slow, asking him questions that she hoped he'd answer.

"My head hurts a little, but no, nothing's broken or anything like that." Hal answered fairly quickly.

"Well, the headache could be the result of whatever drug or drugs were in your system. Do you by chance know what it was?" Anne questioned, trying to be gentle. Hal got a faraway look in his eyes before shaking his head.

"Okay. Well, I'd like to make sure that it has fully worn off, and, if possible, see if we can find out what it was. So, I'd like to run a blood test." Hal snapped his head up to look at her so fast that she thought he'd get a whiplash. He stared at Anne with distrustful eyes.

"All that I would do, is take a blood sample and run a few tests on it." Anne explained calmly, not wanting Hal to have another panic attack. Tom put his hand back on his son's shoulder, trying to offer him some support, but also to have a hold on him, just in case Hal panicked.

It took a few moments, but Hal finally nodded. Anne turned around and grabbed the needle. When she turned again to face the two Mason, Hal immediately tensed up again, and stared at the syringe in her hand. Anne moved it so it laid on the flat of her palm, and let Hal look it.

Hal stared at it for at least three minutes before he again nodded, giving his consent. He even moved his arm so she could take it. Anne slowly wrapped her fingers around the needle and pricked the crook of his elbow. She could see Hal grip the sheet in his fists tight enough to make his veins pop, so Anne finished her task as soon as she could.

Once she had taken a sample, she took out the needle, placed a band aid over the spot, put the syringe back on the table, and left the room. Outside, were Matt, Ben, and Maggie. Anne knew Maggie would be there, she was there since that last time she entered the room. Ben and Matt on the other hand were actually ordered to go get some sleep and then get a meal before they came back. Considering how fast it took them to do that, Anne knew they did not get much sleep and probably scarfed down their food as fast as possible.

"How is he?" Matt asked as he was the one who saw her first. Lourdes, having seen Anne enter the hallway and hearing Matt's question, also came over.

"He's doing a lot better. No major injuries, looks like the drug has worn off, and he's awake. Lourdes?" Anne called the other doctor over and handed her the blood sample, "Get this Kadar, see if he can run a test, just to be on the safe side." Lourdes nodded and went on her way with the small vial.

"So, we can see him now?" Maggie clarified, remembering what Anne had said earlier.

"While he is doing better, he's still pretty freaked out." Anne told them.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"He is, um, very distrustful right now." Anne tried to explain, but given the looks on their faces, it didn't work, so she tried a different way.

"Do you guys know what hyper vigilance is?" When they shook their heads, she continued, "It's a state of feeling constantly tense and on guard, like you are expecting a threat at every turn. Hal is being very hyper vigilant, as well as showing signs of PTSD."

"So, what do we do?" Ben wondered.

"Go slow, and don't do anything that he can perceive as a threat. I'll go see if he's okay with visitors, and if he is, then you can all go see him."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

When Anne left the room, Tom put his arm around Hal's shoulders. Though Anne went as fast as she could, and waited for his permission, he never relaxed. Even though the doctor was gone, Hal still clenched the sheets tightly and was so tense that he was shaking.

"It's okay Hal, it's over." Tom whispered.

"I know." Hal replied, slowly unclenching his fists.

"Why don't you lie down. You still look a little tired." Tom suggested, but Hal shook his head.

"No, I'm fine." Hal told him, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Anne wasn't gone for very long. The door opened less than five minutes after she left, and she came back inside, though didn't approach them.

"There are some people outside who want see you, and I'm pretty sure if I don't let them, they will kick the door open." Anne said with a knowing smirk and Hal immediately knew which people she was talking about.

"Well, it'd be shame to wreck a perfectly good door." Hal joked and Tom felt the worry he had been feeling for awhile start to loosen its hold on him. Anne smiled and opened the door as three figures came into the room.

Matt was the first one to enter. Hal almost didn't recognize him. His youngest brother had gotten taller, and he had his hair cut short, loosing the mohawk he had last time he saw him. The minute Matt laid eyes on his brother, he stared at him, and slowly started walking towards Hal.

"Hey buddy." That did it. Matt stopped for a minute, before breaking out into a full out run. Hal was ready, and caught his baby brother as he ran into his arms. They both held each tight, and Hal felt a weight that he didn't realize was pressing on his chest, disappear. Breathing suddenly felt a lot easier, and he held his little brother tighter. When he heard sniffling come from Matt, he pulled away slightly.

"Hey, are you crying?" Sure enough, when Hal looked at Matt's face, there were tears making their way down his face. Hal brought up his hands and wiped them away with his thumbs.

"It's okay, I'm okay." He told his youngest brother. Matt smiled at him and nodded. He looked like he was going to hug him again, but saw that someone else had made their way over. Hal looked over to where Matt was looking, and saw Ben standing at his left, his own eyes filling up with tears. He almost jumped at the sudden appearance of his other brother, but managed to keep himself together, and gave Ben a smile.

He let go of Matt and opened his arms to Ben in invitation. Ben didn't hesitate to enter the embrace and they both held each other tightly.

"Missed you Dumb Jack." Ben whispered.

"Missed you too, Math Geek" Hal replied, then he slowly pulled away and looked at his family and said, "I missed all of you."

It was then his eyes found her. She was standing a little ways away, watching him with tears in her eyes, and a smile on her lips. Once she realized that he was looking at her, she lifted her hand gave a little wave. It was taking all she had to not run up and pull him into her arms, but she wanted to give him some time with his family.

But the minute he saw her, he kept his eyes on her. After she waved, he returned it and said, "Hi Maggie."

Just like Matt, she melted, but she kept herself from running at him. Instead, she slowly walked towards him, trying to keep her tears from falling. As she came to stand in front of him, he reached forward and put his hands in hers.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Hey." She whispered back. The two of them were completely oblivious to the looks everyone else in the room were giving them. Hal took his hands out of hers and wrapped his arms around her waist as she put her hands on his shoulders and pressed her lips against his in a kiss that he returned wholeheartedly.

All too soon, Maggie pulled away and gave him a light punch in the shoulder.

"That's for scaring me." Maggie explained.

"Fair enough." Hal agreed. Everyone in the room laughed, all too relieved that their missing family member was finally safe and sound.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal tossed and turned on the hospital bed, trying to get comfortable. It wasn't very late, but he was exhausted. Anne had warned him to get some sleep earlier, but Hal wanted to stay up so he could visit with his family. Over the last few hours, they updated him about everything that happened while he was gone.

After a while though, it became obvious that Hal was about to pass out. So Anne and Tom ushered everyone out of the room, leaving him alone for the first time since he'd been found. He had hoped pushing himself to stay awake would help him fall asleep since he'd be more tired, but no such luck.

He moved to lie on his side, and closed his eyes, thinking maybe if he stayed still enough, he'd drift off to sleep. What happened though, was something else entirely, because random images started flooding his mind

 _He saw a huge machine in the center of a dimly lit room. It was so big the reached the ceiling which was easily 20 feet tall, and had thick wires connected to it which ran in all directions._

 _Then the image was gone, and Hal was outside on top of a hill. He looked down into a valley and saw that it was filled with skitters and Mechs. At least a thousand of each, maybe more._

Then the images faded away and Hal opened his eyes.

He was still in the bed in the hospital, not in the dimly lit room with the machine, or outside looking down at a horde of skitters. Hal sat up in the bed, looking at the pitcher of water sitting on the counter on the other side of the room. He thought maybe a drink of water would help calm him down when he heard the door open.

Hal's pulse quickened, until he saw that the person entering the room was a small girl with dark brown wavy hair, darker skin, and big brown eyes. She couldn't have been more than 6 years old, but Hal instantly recognized her, and knew that she was far younger than 6. It was Lexi, his little sister.

She came in a little farther and the door shut behind her. Looking around the room, she quickly found him. Her eyes focused on him, and stayed still, but Hal could see nervousness in her face, though she was trying to hide it.

"Hi Lexi." Hal welcomed, giving the girl a smile. Seeing that he didn't appear to be angry with her, but actually happy to see her, she gave him a grin in return.

The happy moment soon became confusing and slightly scary when he heard a voice in his voice that he knew belonged to the child, but she never opened her mouth, and he didn't hear it through his ears.

 _Hello Hal._


	7. Far Too Long

**Disclaimer** – I still own nothing. Please review, they make my day, and

 **Enjoy!**

 _"_ _AHHHHHHHH!" Hal screamed as he felt the scalpel cut into the back of his head. He fought against the ropes that were holding his wrists and ankles to the table, but the two skitters that were also in the room came forward and pushed him against the metal to keep him still. Suddenly, a loud blaring noise sounded as a red light started flashing in the room. The harnessed boy dropped the knife and ran out of the room, the two skitters followed._

 _Hal turned his now bleeding head to the side, and saw that the harnessed boy dropped the knife on the table right by his left hand. He pulled his hand against the ropes, which instantly dug back into the cuts that they had made due to Hal fighting against them many times._

 _Pressing his wrist against the scalpel, he moved his wrist forward until he could grab the tip of the blade with his fingers. Hal moved the knife so he could grip the handle, and started cutting the ropes around his wrist._

 _Once his left hand was free, he freed his right one, then moved to free his legs. The entire time he did this, the alarm never stopped. It was so loud, that he barely heard the sounds of gunfire._

 _Hal stood up, and almost fell flat on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he actually walked around. Once he was steady, he headed for the door, though his legs were shaking so bad that he couldn't walk in a straight line._

 _Before he reached the door however, something caught his attention. He slowly started walking towards it. He could see something on the ground that looked like a pedestal, and something similar coming from the ceiling, but all he could see in the middle was something that was glowing a light blue very brightly in the dark room. It was so bright that it hurt to look at it, he couldn't even see what 'it' was._

 _As he started getting closer, his eyes started to make out something in the center of the blue light, then he heard a high pitch whistle. Next thing he knew, he was flying backwards as the light changed from blue to yellow and orange._

"AH!" Hal shot up in his bed with a start. Taking many deep breaths to calm himself down, he looked around the room. He was in the hospital room in Charleston. He was safe, it was just a nightmare, a memory, of the h*ll he escaped from.

"Hal?" The oldest Mason son turned to look at the door as Maggie came into the room, carrying a tray looking at him with concern in her eyes. Hal mentally shook off the images and gave the woman a smile.

"Hey Mags, what's up?" Hal asked. Maggie put the tray that he could now see had food on it, on the table beside his bed before coming over to him.

"Nothing much. Are you okay?" Maggie questioned as she sat down on the bed. She could see the paleness of his skin, dark circles under his eyes, and the cold sweat that was covering his skin.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hal lied, and she could tell. His hands were shaking slightly, and he kept shifting in his position, almost like he couldn't get comfortable.

"You sure? You seem a little restless." Maggie told him.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Hal tried to assure her. His eyes though kept jumping around the room, mostly to the door. Whenever Maggie could hear someone talk from outside the room, or something being wheeled down the hallway, Hal would visibly tense.

"Hal?"

"It's just, I'm okay, right? I mean, there's nothing physically wrong with me. So, why am I still here, in the infirmary?" Hal questioned, finally turning his gaze to her. Anne had given no indication of when he would be released, and he was hating every moment that he was in the hospital room.

"Anne probably just wants to make certain you're okay. She'll release you soon, I'm sure." Maggie assumed. Hal looked around the room again, though much slower this time.

"It's just, it's starting to feel like I went from one prison cell to another." Hal admitted, his voice quiet. Maggie now knew why he was so restless and why he kept looking around the room. He was actually staring at the walls, he probably felt like they were closing in on him. She knew that feeling all too well.

When Maggie didn't say anything, Hal started to feel nervous. He was getting worried that she was taking what he said the wrong way.

"I mean, I'd rather be here, and I'm glad I am, but it-" Hal started.

"Feels like you're trapped. Like you can't breathe and you're going crazy." Maggie finished for him. She lifted her head and looked right into his eyes, no judgement or anger showed on her face or in her voice.

"It's okay, I get it." Maggie told him, sliding her hand into his, and he squeezed it. After a few moments, Maggie pulled her hand away and stood up. Hal looked at her in surprise and confusion.

"Why don't you eat, I'll be back." Maggie suggested, and at the look on Hal's face, she assured him, "I'll be right back, I promise."

She lowered her head close to his and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning on her heel and exited the room. Hal stared at the door for a minute before grabbing the plate and fork off the table and started eating.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Maggie found Anne checking over another patient. She waited until the doctor was finished and walking away before she approached.

"Oh, Maggie. What can I do for you?" Anne wondered with a kind.

"Why is Hal still in the infirmary?" Maggie got right down to it. The smile left her face.

"What do you mean?" Anne questioned, though Maggie could tell that the woman knew exactly what she was talking about.

"He's been here for a week, he doesn't have any broken bones, no injuries, he's not even dehydrated. So why are you still keeping him here?" Maggie clarified.

Anne turned her gaze from Maggie to their surroundings. When the doctor did that, the soldier's eyes followed, wondering what Anne was looking at. Then she noticed that they were standing in the middle of a crowded hallway. Anne grabbed Maggie's arm and pulled her to the side.

"Physically, yes, he appears to be fine. But I can't be certain without running more tests. I asked him about doing them earlier, but he said no." Anne told her.

"Are the tests really needed?" Maggie asked.

"No, but given what happened last time Karen had him, I'd feel a lot better if I did." Anne explained, remembering hearing about what happened with the eyebug.

"One, we have the device from the Volm now, which is quite easy to use. Two, Karen already did that. She wouldn't try the same tactic twice, especially if it wasn't very successful the first time." Maggie pointed out.

"But that doesn't mean she didn't do anything to him. He's showing obvious signs of Post Traumatic Stress."

"Are saying that you are keeping Hal in a windowless room, in a medical wing for having PTSD? He might as well be in a psychiatric ward. He was held captive by the Espheni, by Karen, for five months. Of course he's going to have PTSD, but having trauma isn't grounds for keeping someone in a hospital." Maggie argued.

"But we have no idea how it's going to affect him mentally, especially with any added stress, such as dealing with people who think that he is still a spy for Karen, especially since he willingly went with her. You know the rumors that are going around." Maggie wasn't deaf to what people were saying. There were many times already that she had to hold herself back from punching someone in the face for what they were saying, but these wasn't about that.

"Keeping him locked in a hospital room isn't going to stop the rumors, if anything, they'll grow because they'll think there's a reason he's being hidden away. And it won't get rid of his PTSD either, it will just make it worst." Maggie told her.

"What do you suggest I do then?" Anne asked.

"Let him move back into our room. I can keep an eye on him, and don't keep him hidden away. If we want Hal to get past this, and to show people that he's not a traitor, we need to get him back into his normal routine. And if something is wrong, then we'll find out soon enough. But I do know that keeping him locked up isn't going to make it better."

Anne stayed quiet, thinking over Maggie's suggestion. She had to admit, the young woman was right.

"If we use the Volm device and find out there is no eyebug, and if he's okay going back to your guys' room like before, and you promise to keep an eye on him until I can talk to Tom, then yes, he can leave the hospital." Anne agreed.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal finished eating in just minutes. He didn't remember eating anything at all while Karen had him, but he did remember having an IV in his hand. That was probably how she kept him from starving.

Not long after he finished, the door opened and Maggie re-entered the room, this time with Anne. Hal sat up straighter and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"What's going on?" Hal asked.

"Well, Maggie pleaded your case, and there are few conditions if you want to be discharged." Anne informed him.

"What conditions?" Hal questioned.

"Well, the Volm gave us this device that can tell if there's an eyebug, I want to check for that, which will be the only test I insist I run. And you have to promise that if you think there's something wrong, you tell me immediately." Anne explained.

"This device, how does it work?" Hal asked, not willing to commit to that condition until he knew the details.

"It's easy, you just keep your eyes open while I look at them through the device. That's it." Anne said. Hal looked over at Maggie who gave him a reassuring smile. He then looked back at his father's girlfriend and nodded.

The doctor pulled something out of her white coat pocket. It looked like a smooth rock with a hole in the middle that was filled with glass. Hal kept his head still and eyes opened as Anne looked through the glass into his eyes. After a few minutes, Anne put the device back into her pocket.

"Looks like you're clear. So, I will discharge with you." Anne revealed. Maggie came over to her boyfriend and held his hand.

"Am I going back to our room or…" Hal wasn't sure if Maggie would be alright with that. A lot could happen in five months and he didn't want to push her if she didn't want to go right back to where they left off.

"I'm okay with it if you are." Maggie told him.

"I'm way more than okay with that." Hal told her, giving her a smile.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

As Hal and Maggie made their way to their room, Hal kept his gaze down, not looking at anyone they though he could feel their eyes on him. The minute that Hal followed Maggie out of the hospital room, practically everyone turned and looked at him. Some with only curious glances, others will full on glares. Maggie quickly saw what was going on, and in response, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her.

Once they reached the room, Hal immediately took refuge inside, away from everyone's stares. It wasn't until Maggie closed the door that he relaxed and looked around the room. Everything looked exactly the same, like he had never left. Hal found it comforting, yet a little weird. He felt a bit like a stranger in this room.

Maggie watch Hal take note of the room. She could see from the way he was walking around and looking everything over that something was up. She went over to him, but he didn't notice since he had his back to her.

She put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Hal?"

He turned around to face her and gave her smile small and whispered back, "Hey."

"Everything okay?" Maggie checked.

"Yeah, I guess I just, need to get used to the room again." Hal concluded as he sat down on the bed.

"Well, you were gone for a long time." Maggie stated as she sat down beside him.

"For way too long." Hal agreed. The two locked eyes, tilted their heads and moved closer, their lips meeting. Hal placed his hands on Maggie's waist while she gently put hers on his neck, under the base of his head.

As they moved even closer to each other, the kiss went deeper. Maggie moved her hands up, running her fingers through his thick hair. Unfortunately, she accidentally brushed against the now scabbed over cut under his ear and suddenly, Hal wasn't in the room anymore as a memory washed over him.

 _Hal struggled against the ropes that were keeping him trapped on the metal table. Karen was standing beside him, watching him._

 _"_ _Try not to move Hal." Karen told him. Before Hal could ask what she meant, a harnessed boy came to his other side with a scalpel in hand. Hal looked back over to Karen._

 _"_ _Karen, don't" Hal pleaded, but she ignored him, and put one of her hands on his neck and the other in his hair. She moved his head to face the side she was on giving the harnessed kid access to the back of his neck. Hal tried to move but Karen held his head still. He felt the sharp edge of the scalpel cut into his skin and he screamed._

"Hal?"

Hal blinked and the memory faded away. He was back in the bedroom with Maggie, who was looking at him worriedly.

Maggie instantly knew what happened, he had a flashback. When she accidentally touched the still healing cut, he tensed up and pulled away. His hands were shaking and his eyes practically glazed over, not seeing anything. She didn't know how many times she called his name before he snapped out of it.

"Sorry." Hal's voice was so quiet that Maggie barely heard it.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. It's my fault, I should've been careful to not touch that cut." Maggie told him.

"You couldn't have known." Hal reminded her. He folded his hands over his lap and looked down at them. Maggie lifted her arm and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Hal, tell me what happened." Maggie requested, keeping her voice soft. She wanted to help him, but she didn't want to force him to tell her when he wasn't ready to relive it all just yet. When he didn't answer her, she asked a different question.

"What's on your mind?" After a few more moments of silence, Hal answered.

"I feel like, if I so much as close my eyes, that when I open them, everything will be gone. That I'll still be with…" Hal didn't finish, and he didn't need to. Maggie knew what he meant. She lifted her hand, put it under his chin and turned his head to face her.

Hal's eyes were filled with so much fear and pain, and she knew there was more to the story, that he wasn't going to tell her, not yet anyways. That was alright with her though, she didn't need to know. She just had to make sure he knew that this was all real. So, she moved her hands so they were both on the back of his head, well above the cut, and pulled his head down so she could press her lips against his again. Hal immediately kissed her back, closing his eyes as he did.

Maggie pulled back after a few seconds, and smiled at him. Hal was now beyond confused as to what was going on.

"What was that for?" Hal asked.

"You closed your eyes. Look around, you're still here. I'm still here." Maggie explained. Hal actually did look around the room, and when he turned his gaze back to her, she saw him smile at her, though a tear was now sliding down his cheek. Hal immediately lowered his back down to hers and locked her lips in his again. As the kiss went deeper, the world faded away because in that moment, it was just the two of them, just Hal and Maggie.

 **AN** \- The last scene between Hal and Maggie is inspired from a scene from White Collar (amazing show!). Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 8 should be up within a week.


	8. Trying to Fill in the Blanks

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing. Sorry for the wait, got busy this week. Here is chapter 8, please review and

 **Enjoy!**

As Maggie finished tying up the laces on her boots, she sat back up from her hunched over position. She was sitting on the edge of the foot of the bed. She looked over her shoulder, and smiled when she saw that Hal was still fast asleep under the covers.

He was lying on his side in the middle of the bed, his arms outstretched, lying exactly where they fell when Maggie slipped out of them after she woke up. She was debating on whether or not she should wake Hal for breakfast when there was a knock on the door.

Maggie grabbed her gun that she had laid on the floor by her feet while she was getting ready, before making her way to the door. She doubted that whoever was on the other side was intending to harm Hal, but with all the tension that was still going on with the people of Charleston, she wasn't taking any chances.

Once she reached she the door, she opened it slowly, and saw Tom Mason standing on the other side. He opened his mouth to say something when Maggie brought her finger to her mouth in a shushing motion. She tilted her head, showing Tom the man still asleep on the bed.

Tom closed his mouth and took a few feet away from the door to allow Maggie enough room to get out of the doorway. He waited until the door was closed before he spoke.

"What on earth were you thinking? There were reasons that Hal was still in the infirmary." Tom told her in a hushed yell.

"Really? What reasons were there?" Maggie wondered. She knew that the odds were she'd be having this discussion with her boyfriend's father. He had not made any attempt to hide how overprotective he was feeling over his oldest son. Honestly, she was surprised that he waited until morning to confront her.

"That Anne still wanted to run some more tests. Don't you remember what Karen did to him almost a year ago?" Tom asked.

"Of course I remember. But I also remember that the entire time he was paralyzed, Anne had run numerous tests on him, but didn't find anything, even though he did have a bug. What are the odds those tests would work this time if there is something wrong? Not to mention, Anne already checked for bugs using the Volm device, he's clean." Maggie pointed out.

"She had him for five months, who knows what she could've done to him? And those tests might help us figure out what she did, if she did anything." Tom reminded her.

"Again, we don't know if they'd work, and Anne said they weren't really necessary." Maggie repeated.

"What made you think that Anne shouldn't run them just to be on the safe side?" Tom interrogated.

"Because they probably wouldn't work, Hal didn't want to, and he told me he felt like he had gone from one prison to another." That stopped the father short, and Maggie instantly regretted telling him the last part. Tom's face paled considerably, and a look of shock mixed with horror covered his face, he looked completely lost. He turned and pressed his back against the wall.

"I just want him where someone can keep an eye on him." Tom told her after a few moments, and suddenly, everything fell into place. While Anne may have wanted to keep him in the infirmary, Maggie should have realized that Tom probably had a say in that too.

"You wanted him in the infirmary so you always knew where he was, cause you're scared you're going to lose him again." Maggie realized. Tom ran his hand over his face an nodded.

"I just want to keep him safe. Guess I thought keeping him in the infirmary would make it easier." Tom said.

"Easier? Yeah, maybe, but it's not right. I'm worried about him too, and yes, I feel the need to keep him in my sights at all time, but we can't. The sooner we try to go back to normal, the sooner he'll bounce back, and the sooner everyone stops all the rumors." Maggie explained.

"I know, you're right. But he is not fighting on missions or anything like that, at all, not yet." Tom drew the line at sending Hal out into danger. There was no way that was happening, not until they were sure he could handle it, and they found out what happened during the last five months.

"Agreed. So, we'll see you in the cafeteria in a few minutes?" Maggie asked.

"Do you think he'll be okay with being in such a public place?" Tom wondered. He knew that there was a very high chance that Hal would've talked more about what was going with Maggie. Whenever he tried, Hal just kept saying he was fine even though he could see Hal jump whenever something or someone startled him and a crowded cafeteria would not make him comfortable.

"He'll have to get used to it sooner or later. Sooner is better if you ask me." Maggie replied. Tom nodded and he headed down the hall while Maggie made her way back to her room.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _Hal walked down a dark hallway. He knew he was on an Espheni spaceship, as it was very similar to the one he was on when he went with Karen, but it was not the same. This one was much darker, and larger._

 _As he continued walking, Hal saw that there was a door at the end of the hallway, and he made his way towards it. When he was standing in front of it, he lifted his hand to open it, but then everything went dark._

Hal opened his eyes, expecting to be still trapped in the warehouse where Karen was holding him. Instead he found himself in his room, and the events of the last week, and especially the night before came back.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position, and looked around the room, but found he was alone. Wondering where Maggie was, and if he should go looking for her or wait to see if she would be coming back, Hal swung his legs over so they were hanging off the edge of the bed when the door opened, and Maggie made her way into the room. The surprised look on her face made it clear that she thought he was still asleep.

"Hey, thought you were still sleeping. Sorry I left, had to go deal with your Dad." Maggie explained as she came to stand in front of him and looked down at his face, as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't up long. What did my Dad want?" Hal asked as he looked up at her.

"Nothing important, he's just worried about you." Maggie told him and asked, "Did you sleep okay?"

"Oh, best sleep I've had in a long time." Hal told her with a smirk on his face as he placed his hands on her waist. Maggie smiled and lowered her head, and started kissing him, which he returned.

All too soon, Maggie pulled away, and lifted one of her hands and laid it against his cheek. Instinctively, he leaned into it.

"You up for coming to breakfast with me? Your Dad, and your brothers should be there by now too." She wondered. Hal immediately tensed up, and a conflicted expression appeared on his face. While he wanted to go with her and see his family too, he was worried about all the people that would also be down there.

"Hey, don't worry, you'll be with me, and your family. Everything will be fine." Maggie told him.

"Okay." Hal agreed, and got off the bed to get dressed.

As he finished put on his boots, he looked up to see Maggie hold something out to him. He grabbed it, and saw that it was his camo jacket.

"I kept it safe for you. Figured you'd want it back." She told him. Hal smiled as he slid it on.

"Come on, let's go." Maggie said. She grabbed his hand and together they made their way to the cafeteria.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

This time, Hal didn't hide his face, though kept from looking into anyone's eyes. He couldn't help but be on guard, waiting for someone to attack him. Keeping a hold of Maggie's hand, he continued following her down to the cafeteria while everyone stopped to watch.

Once they got there, the entire room went silent for a minute, then the hushed whispers started. Tom, looked up from his plate to see what was going on, when he saw Hal and Maggie coming down the stairs. He got up and made his way over to his son. Anne, Matt, Ben, and Lexi also looked up, but only Lexi got up to follow Tom.

"Hey, good to see you up." Tom told Hal, and gave wrapped him a quick hug which Hal returned. Lexi was suddenly at Hal's side and wrapped her arms around him. Hal smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Good to be up." Hal replied.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat." Maggie said to Hal, and went to get in line. Lexi let go of her older brother, but followed him and Maggie to the food line.

"Guess she finally found someone else to bug." Matt smirked as Tom sat back down at the table.

"Matt." Tom chastised. Matt just shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating his food.

When Anne and Lexi returned to the 2nd Mass, and after all the confusion and horror over what happened passed, Matt quickly found out that he now had a shadow. He loved having a little sibling to hang out with and was no longer considered the 'baby' of the family, but it quickly got annoying when she was constantly following him around.

After Tom had sat down, and Maggie and Hal got in line with Lexi now clinging to his side, the cafeteria went back to normal, the room filling with noise once again. For Hal though, while it was nice for everyone to stop staring at him, he still felt uneasy about how crowded it was, and not being able to tell how many people were around him or if they going to try anything was keeping him very tense.

He didn't even notice Lexi had followed them until he felt he grab his hand. He looked down at the girl, and she gave him a big smile, which he returned. He hadn't really seen her since that night when she had come alone into his room.

While he remembered what happened, he tried to forget about it. Odds were, it was just that there was still a little bit of the drug in his system, or he was just tired. Maybe it was because of her alien DNA. Either way, he didn't push it because honestly, he was a little scared of what the answer was.

After they had filled their trays, Hal, Maggie, and Lexi headed to the table where the rest of the Mason family were sitting. Maggie sat down first by Ben, and Hal sat on her other side. The minute Hal sat down, Lexi squeezed in beside him. Apparently, she decided that her newfound oldest brother was now her best friend.

Once everyone was seated, the conversation went back to normal. Hal tried to keep up, but over half the time, he had no idea what they were talking about. Maggie tried to include him, but she soon ended up dragged into it. Hal didn't mind though, he was just glad to be a part of something normal and soon found himself laughing at something stupid that Matt had done the day before.

The moment of peace, and normalcy quickly ended when Hal felt the world start to fade away once again.

 _Hal opened his eyes and saw that he was outside. The wind was blowing against him, cooling him down against the hot sun. Then he heard noises, skitters. He turned around and found he was standing on a hill, and below him in the valley, were thousands of skitters and Mechs. This time though, there was an Overlord with them._

The young man was shaken out of his reverie when he heard a voice calling his name, and felt someone grab his hand. Hal looked around to see that everyone at the table was staring at him.

"You okay?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Hal was quick to reassure her. The last thing he needed was the doctor deciding he should head back to the hospital. He looked down when the grip someone had on his hand tightened, and saw it was Maggie's. He saw the concerned look on her face and squeezed it back.

Before the everything could return to normal however, Hal felt someone behind him put their hand on his shoulder, and he instantly tensed up, grabbing his fork tightly, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary. Then, the person spoke.

"See you finally came out to see us." Hal relaxed slightly at the sound of Tector's voice. He turned his head to see his friend standing behind him.

"What can I say, the hospital room gets boring very quickly." Hal replied, a grin spreading on his face.

"Good to see you man. Love to stay and chat, but duty calls. See you later, okay?" Tector told him.

"You bet." Hal replied, and watched as Tector headed out of the room. When Hal looked back at his family sitting at the table, they were all grinning at him.

"See, everything will be back to normal before you know it." Maggie promised. Hal smiled at her and went back to eating his food, keeping her hand in his own.

"Oh Dad, look at the time. The rebel skitter leader should be here by now." Ben stated, looking at the clock that hung in the room. Tom glanced down at his watch while Ben stood up.

"Right, sorry guys, but we need to get going." Tom responded, getting up off his chair.

"What's going on with the rebel skitters?" Maggie asked. Hal was about to ask the same question, but knew they probably wouldn't give him an answer. He knew that many people were still concerned about him being an Espheni spy, especially since what happened the eyebug, so he was glad Maggie asked.

"Don't know. All he told us was that he had info on an attack it looks like they're going to mount against us, again." Ben answered.

"Alright, try not to get in any trouble today you three." Tom told them, giving a pointed look at Hal, Matt, and Lexi.

"Hey, I haven't gotten into any trouble in almost two weeks." Matt protested, remembering how he and his friends pranked their teacher a few days before Hal was found.

"I know, which greatly concerns me." Tom replied, a smile on his face, then followed Ben up the stairs towards the exit.

"I got to go too. Lexi, I'm going to drop you off with the other kids today, alright. And Matt, get to school, and please, listen to your father. I do not want to get called away from work today." Anne somewhat pleaded with the Mason family troublemaker, as she got up from her chair. Lexi and Matt followed in suit, waved goodbye to Hal and Maggie, and headed out of the cafeteria.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Maggie asked him as she finished her breakfast.

"You don't have any work you need to do?" Hal inquired.

"Nope, I'm completely free." She answered. Hal knew that his Dad had to be involved with that. Before he left, all the soldiers were working full time shifts, and at most, had one day completely off. Maggie though, had been with him pretty much everyday for the last week. There was no way that would've happened unless his Dad or Weaver had a part to play in that, but Hal wasn't going to complain.

"I want to go outside." Hal decided. He hadn't even seen what the outside world looked like for months, except when he was escaping, and even then, he barely remembered what it was like. He was pretty sure he was starting to get cabin fever.

"Come with me then." Maggie said, with a smirk on her face.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Where are we going?" Hal asked as he followed Maggie up yet another flight of stairs. Once they had left the cafeteria, Maggie took him to the other end of the building where there was a huge staircase leading up.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." Was the only response Maggie gave.

Finally, they reached the top. There wasn't much space, and only one door. Maggie opened it, and went through to the other side. Hal followed, and saw that they were on the roof. He went over to the edge and looked around.

"Wow, Charleston's sure gotten a lot bigger." Hal commented, looking back at Maggie. She smiled as she walked over to him, grabbing his hand in hers.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how many people we have now. Ever since the rest of the Volm arrived, they've been a big help in getting other groups over here. Your Dad's thinking that we might have to make another base." Maggie told him as she sat down, her back against the railing. Hal sat down beside her.

"That's good."

"Hal, what happened earlier?" Maggie inquired.

"What do you mean?" Hal questioned, thought he was pretty sure he knew what she was talking about.

"At breakfast, it was like you completely blacked out. What happened? And don't say it was nothing, I need you to be honest with me." Maggie told him.

"Honestly, I don't really know. One minute, I was listening to what you guys were saying, then I wasn't there. I was standing on a hill, and when I looked down at the bottom, I saw skitters, a lot of them, Mechs too. Next thing I knew, I heard someone call my name, and I was back in the cafeteria." Hal explained.

"Has this happened before?" Maggie questioned.

"Yeah. But it's not always the same thing that I see." Hal answered.

"We should go tell Anne, we promised we would tell her if anything happened." Maggie decided.

"No. If we tell her, she'll make me go back to the hospital, I just got out yesterday. Besides, it's probably nothing. It might just be flashbacks." Hal tried assure her.

"Do you remember seeing those things while you were gone?"

"No, but I don't remember a lot of what happened. Look, I'm sure it's nothing, but if it keeps happening, then I'll tell Anne, okay?" Hal tried to compromise. He wasn't ready to go back in the hospital, or to have the doctor try to persuade him to let her run more tests.

"Okay, but you have to promise, that if it does keep happening, you tell me." Maggie told him. Hal nodded, and squeezed her hand.

"I promise."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

As the days continued to pass, slowly, everything went back to normal. Hal still felt like he was on a leash, as he wasn't allowed to really do anything, or go anywhere unless someone was with him. Apparently, though everyone stopped staring at him whenever he entered a room, they still weren't trusting him with a gun, or with any information about what they were doing. He didn't blame them for that, but he felt very uneasy about going around unarmed.

Finally, two weeks after Hal moved back into his old room with Maggie, his Dad decided that he was well enough to go out on a patrol. It was only to the edge of the city, and he was only allowed to have a gun for as long as the patrol lasted, but it was progress.

Ben was the only one with him, which Hal was grateful for, yet nervous about. Grateful that he didn't have to deal with any of the other soldiers who made it clear they didn't trust him besides Tector and Anthony, and the look Pope gave him was enough to make him want to have a weapon on him at all times, just in case. Nervous, because he was positive that Ben was going to try and get him to talk about what happened. Sure enough, he was right.

"So, how are you holding up?" Ben asked casually once they were far enough away that no one would overhear them.

"Holding up just fine little brother." Hal responded, looking over everything he could see expect Ben's face.

"You sure? It's only been three weeks." Ben pointed out, completely aware that Hal was trying to avoid the subject.

"I'm fine, little annoyed about how slow you guys are to believe me though." Hal told him.

"Well, considering what happened with the eyebug, the fact that you were gone five months, and you tend to try and hide whatever you're feeling or going through for you knows what reason, do you really blame us?" Ben asked, stopping to look at his brother. When Hal heard Ben stop, he did too, and finally looked at him.

"I'm fine, alright? Though I could do without some of the glares people still give me." Hal revealed, Pope's face coming to his mind. Then he started walking again, and Ben followed in suit.

As though he was reading his older brother's mind, Ben said, "Don't worry about Pope, or anybody else. They won't try anything, and Pope has mellowed out a lot lately, ever since he met Sara."

"Who's Sara?" Hal wondered.

"She's Pope's girlfriend. They met about two months ago, after she knocked him with her gun." Ben informed him.

"Pope found a girl, and she actually likes him? The world really has ended." Hal joked, and they both started laughing. Then suddenly, Hal stopped and looked around. Ben also turned his head to get a look at their surroundings, but didn't see anything.

"What is it?" Ben asked, but Hal didn't answer. Hal didn't even hear Ben.

 _His vision had suddenly changed. He could see himself and Ben from a block away, straight ahead, but it was a though he was peaking out from behind a wall. Then he could see himself point a gun at whoever's eyes he was seeing through, heard a shot ring out, then nothing._

The next thing Hal knew, was that someone was shaking his shoulder, and calling his name. Hal blinked, and he was standing on the street beside Ben, who had his hand on his shoulder, almost as though nothing happened.

"What happened?" Hal asked, looking around, his eyes falling on a dead skitter, over a block away, half hidden behind a building. Even from this distance, Hal could see the blood running from its head.

"You just killed a skitter. I didn't even see or hear it, yet you somehow did. Hal, what is going on?" Hal ignored Ben's question, he just stared at the lifeless aliens. It was a few minutes before he finally broke the silence.

"Ben, don't tell anyone what happened." Hal told his younger brother, finally turning to look at him.

"But Hal,"

"Ben, please. I'm asking you to please, keep this to yourself." Hal begged. Ben looked like he was going to protest, but didn't. Instead, he nodded and said, "Okay."

"Thank you." Hal then turned around and started walking back home. After a few seconds, he heard Ben's footsteps behind him.

 **AN** \- And that is the end of chapter 8. Chapter 9 should be uploaded within the week.


	9. Wherever You Fall

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing.

 **AN** – Warning you all, this chapter is very long, sorry. Hope you all enjoy though.

Ben stared at the food on his plate. He had only taken a few bites even though he went through the food line almost half-an-hour ago. As he continued pushing his food around with his fork, his thoughts stayed on his older brother.

It had been three days now since he had gone on patrol with Hal, and Ben couldn't stop thinking about what happened, though he really tried not too. He and the rest of the soldiers, including the Berserkers, were getting ready to head out and destroy a new Espheni outpost a few miles away in a few hours.

The rebel skitter leader had shown him and Deni where it was, a secluded spot in a valley where there were thousands of skitters, Mechs, and an Overlord. He really should be focusing on that, yet his he couldn't stop thinking about what happened.

Hal was doing an excellent job at pretending nothing had happened, but Ben couldn't forget. The look his brother had on his face as he killed that skitter scared him. It was like Hal wasn't there, that he wasn't seeing or hearing anything. Then, it changed to a mixture of anger and determination.

Once the skitter was dead, Hal snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He looked so confused and scared. Ben knew that Hal had no idea what he had done, he could tell that much. When Hal asked him not to say anything, Ben couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea even as he promised Hal he wouldn't say anything.

Ben remembered when he first started realizing he could connect with the Espheni through his spikes, and learned about the rebel skitters. He remembered how confused and scared he was, and Hal saw it. Hal witnessed that harness communicate with him through the spikes while they were saving Matt, and Ben told him to back off. Hal did, and kept it secret until he felt like he had to tell someone. So, when Hal asked him to keep what happened to himself, Ben agreed. He owed his brother that much.

"You okay?" Ben jumped when he heard Maggie's voice. He looked up from his plate in time to see Maggie sit down across from him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied.

"You sure? You've been staring at your food for at least 10 minutes, not taking a single bite." Maggie commented.

"Just tired." Ben told her, hoping that she would drop the matter.

"Ben, be honest with me. Did something happen on that patrol with Hal?" Maggie questioned, lowering her voice so that only he could hear, even though the cafeteria was practically empty.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"Ever since you two got back, you keep shooting him worried glances whenever you two met up, and Hal seems more determined to prove that he is fine, that nothing is affecting him." Maggie explained.

Ben stared at her for a few minutes. He promised Hal he wouldn't say anything, but this was his brother's girlfriend. If anyone was going to figure out something was wrong with Hal, it would be her, and he knew that he could trust her. He knew she wouldn't do anything that could hurt him.

"When we got to the edge of the city, Hal just completely blanked out, like he wasn't there. Then, he raised his gun and pointed it towards a building over a block away and fired. A skitter fell dead onto the street. It was hiding behind the building. I didn't see or hear it, yet Hal somehow knew it was there and killed with a single shot to the head. When he snapped out of it, he didn't even know what he did." Ben revealed.

Maggie took it all in silence. He could see from the expression on her face that she was trying to figure out something. It as though she was trying to put pieces in a puzzle together, and was trying to find out what piece he had given her, but he could also see the worry in her eyes.

"This isn't the first time, is it?" Ben realized.

"Hal has blanked out before, but not like that, not that I know of. We should tell someone." Maggie told him.

"I promised Hal I wouldn't tell anyone." Ben said.

"The last time Hal and I thought there was something wrong, we both kept our mouths shut. It ended with him taking your Dad hostage, and trying to shoot himself. I do not want a repeat of that." Maggie stated.

"Neither do I, but it's only been a few weeks. We should give him more time than that." Ben told her. Maggie didn't get a chance to respond before Tom showed up.

"Ben, there you are. We're getting ready to go. Have to leave now if we want to try and be back by morning." Tom told his middle son as he came over to the table where Ben and Maggie were sitting at.

"Why are you guys attacking this place in the middle of the night?" Maggie questioned as Ben stood up.

"Because with the dark will give us more cover, especially with the trees surrounding the area." Tom explained as Ben came to stand by his father's side.

"Okay, good luck." Maggie wished them.

"You sure you don't want to join us?" Tom asked, though he knew the answer. Ever since they got Hal back, Tom and Weaver didn't put her on many assignments as he wanted someone with his son at all times. They still knew nothing about what happened, and he was still very uneasy at the thought of his son being around people who were still thinking he was a threat.

"Nah, I'm good." Maggie answered.

"Alright. See you tomorrow." Tom told her, and the two Masons turned and headed out of the room.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _Hal slowly came to, biting back a groan. His entire body was aching, the pain in his head and wrists were the worst though. He was still strapped to the metal table, he could feel the ropes embedding into his wrists, and the dried blood on them. On the back of his head, he could feel a bandage tapped tightly over the cut they made, and the dried blood on his neck._

 _He opened his eyes, and saw that he was still in the same room, but the skitters and harnessed kid was gone, or at least, not in his line of sight. What he did see, was Karen, and an Overlord. They weren't doing anything but staring at each other, like they were having a glaring contest. When Hal tried to move his head to see if there was anyone else in the room, a whimper escaped his lips as the pain in his skull intensified._

 _Instinctively, he closed his eyes, and waited for the pain to subside. When he opened them again, Karen was making her way towards him and the Overlord was walking out of the room through a door Hal didn't notice before. Karen came to stand beside his head, and gave him a sympathetic smile._

 _"_ _Don't try to move Hal. You need to rest." She told him, her voice soft. She lifted her hand and placed it on his forehead, slowly pushing his hair away from his face._

 _Hal opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was so dry and sore he couldn't form the words. As though expecting it, Karen turned away for a moment and when she turned back to him, he could see a cup in her hand. She moved the hand that was still in his hair, and placed it under his head and lifted him up gently. She put the cup to his lips and tilted it slowly, allowing him to drink._

 _After taking a few sips, Karen pulled the cup away, and lowered his head back down onto the table._

 _"_ _What did you do? What's going on?" Hal asked._

 _"_ _Don't worry about that right now, you'll see soon enough. I need you to co-operate with me though right now. This will go much easier if you don't fight me." Karen pleaded._

 _"_ _Go to h*ll." Was the only response Hal gave. The human Overlord actually flinched at the harshness of his voice, then gave him a determined stare._

 _"_ _Well then, you have only yourself to blame for this." Hal didn't even see the needle in her hand until she stabbed it into his shoulder. He grunted at the sudden pain, and tried to pull away but it was too late. She had pushed the plunger all the way down, and Hal's vision turned black._

Hal opened his eyes to see that he was lying on the bed in his room, his head at the foot of the bed and his legs over to the edge on the other side. He sat up and saw Maggie sitting on the couch looking at what appeared to be a bunch of papers.

"What are you doing?" Hal asked and she looked up at him, mild surprise on her face. She obviously didn't realize he woke up.

"Nothing really, Marina just decided that in order to have a gun here in the main building that's not in the armory, or when you're not on a mission, you have to fill out a bunch of forms. Apparently, it's supposed to help keep track of the weapons." Maggie explained.

"Did Dad and Ben leave already?" Hal questioned.

"Yeah, about an hour ago." Maggie answered.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You needed to sleep. You barely got a wink last night, don't think I couldn't tell." Maggie told him, remembering his constant shifting as he tried to get comfortable, and hearing him scream himself awake.

"I'm sick of sleeping. I feel like that's all I've been doing." Hal responded. Maggie put the pile of papers she had on her lap on the couch and came over and sat down beside him.

"You're still healing, and getting used to everything again. That can be overwhelming, and when you're overwhelmed, you get tired. Being so hyper vigilant probably isn't helping either." Maggie suggested. Hal looked over at her, and saw what she was getting at. Over the last few weeks, she had been trying to get him to open up about what happened, but he told her nothing.

"You know, if you told me what it was that has you so, guarded, I could help." Maggie said, rubbing his back.

"I know you would try, but I don't think you can. I just want to forget everything that happened." Hal revealed, turning his head to look down at the floor.

"You can't though. It happened, and it's affecting you, more than you're letting me or anyone else know." At that, turned back to her. He could see something in her face that he couldn't place, like she was accusing him of something, yet trying to be gentle about it.

"I talked to Ben, before he left. He told me what happened on the patrol." Maggie said when she saw Hal's confused and questioning gaze.

"You promised you would tell me if anything like that happened, and you didn't." Maggie stated.

"It wasn't the same thing as what I told you about. What happened on patrol, was something completely different." Hal defended himself.

"You still should've told someone." Hal shook his head and looked back down at the floor. Maggie wanted to push, but she could see there was something else going on, there was a reason Hal didn't want anyone to know what was happening.

"You know what I think? I think, that you know there is a problem, that Karen did do something, but you don't know what and it's freaking you out. I think, you want to find out what's going on by yourself, so you can deal with it, without anyone else knowing because you're worried about how people will react." Maggie concluded.

Hal couldn't help but look at her in total surprise. He had no idea how she did that, completely guess at what was going on, and get it all right, at least, most of it. And with the look on Maggie's face, he could tell that she knew she was right. She really did know him better than he knew himself.

"Hal, I get that you don't want to freak anyone out, but you have to know I just want to help, so does your Dad, and brothers, and Anne." Maggie tried to get him to believe.

Hal didn't respond, instead, he looked back down at the floor. He remembered when he started to realize that Karen was controlling him, and he tried to leave Charleston because of it. He didn't want to put anyone in danger, especially not the people he cared about, but Maggie convinced him to stay, saying that they would fix it, that she wasn't going to let Karen win. While they did get the bug out, they didn't manage do to it before he hurt his father.

Everything that was happening, the nightmares, the sudden images that would invade his mind at random, hearing Lexi's voice in his head, and the lack of memories during those five months told Hal something was wrong. Karen did do something to him, and he didn't know what it was. All he knew, was that he wanted to protect his family and Maggie. And if he had to leave in order to do that, he knew he would, but he was terrified of it. Terrified that Karen was still alive and would find him.

"Hal? Come on, talk to me." Maggie gently shook his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"I just, I just want everything to go back to normal, but not at the cost of risking that I might hurt anyone." Hal finally spoke. Maggie wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"You're not going to hurt anyone. I know you won't. You didn't when Karen was controlling you, and you won't now." Maggie told him, but he shook his head.

"I still took my Dad hostage, and pointed a gun at him, you, and Matt. And this, this is different. I was with Karen for five months, and I barely know what happened. She was constantly drugging me. Now that I'm here, I kept getting these random images in my head, and I don't know what's happening because Karen never told me what she was doing. If she made me into another mole…" Maggie put her hands on each side of his head and forced him to look at her. Hal couldn't hide the fear he was feeling from her, she could read him too well.

"I know that there is nothing Karen, or anyone else could do to make you hurt the people you care about, the people you love. You are too strong to let anyone make you do that. I don't care what she did to you, we'll deal with it, okay? You are stronger than this." Maggie insisted.

Hal nodded, and tried to push down his fear. Maggie leaned forward and gave him a small kiss which he returned, then she pulled him into her arms. He wrapped his own arms around her waist and held her just as tightly as she was holding him. She was right, he wasn't going to let anyone make him hurt his family or the woman currently in his arms. He'd die before he would let that happen.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal didn't find Ben until the next evening. Apparently, he, and the rest of soldiers that went on the mission including their Dad, had gotten in early in the morning and went straight to bed. Hal didn't blame them, he knew if he was up all day and all night he'd be tired enough to sleep on a bed of nails. Hal finally caught up with Ben in one of the hallways.

"So, how did it go?" Hal asked, coming beside his brother, and matched his stride.

"Good. We didn't destroy them all though. There were too many and some fled. But we didn't lose anyone." Ben informed Hal.

"Well, that's pretty good." Hal commented, then went silent. After a few minutes, Ben couldn't take it anymore. Ever since he told Maggie what happened while they were on patrol, he couldn't shake the guilt that had settled in his stomach.

Ben stopped walking. It didn't take long for his brother to realize that he had stopped, and Hal turned around and came over to him. Ben waited until Hal stood in front of him before he spoke.

"Look Hal, I know I promised that I wouldn't say anything about what happened, but I told Maggie."

"I know. She kinda confronted me about it yesterday." Hal admitted before adding, "It's okay. I'm fine with her knowing."

"So, are you going to tell Dad, or Anne?" Ben wondered, hoping that his brother would say yes, though he doubted it.

"I don't know. I mean, I know I probably should, but if I do, Anne will want to run a bunch of tests and Dad will freak out and make me stay in the infirmary." Hal told him.

"What's so bad with being in the infirmary?" Ben asked.

"Remember when you had your first asthma attack? And you had to stay in the hospital while the doctors ran a whole whack of tests? Think of it like that, but no TV and no window." Hal explained.

"Fair enough, but I think-" Ben was cut off by the sound of an explosion outside. He looked over at Hal to see if he heard it too. Hal did, and they took off running to find out what was going on.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Come on people! Let's move it!" Weaver yelled at the soldiers as they grabbed their rifles and guns and headed out to where the skitters and Mechs were attacking.

"Do we have any idea how many there are?" Tom, who was standing beside Colonel, questioned, grabbing a gun for himself.

"Not yet, but it looks there's a lot." Weaver answered.

"Dad! What's happening?" Ben asked as he and Hal came running over to them.

"Skitter and Mech attack, on the East and South perimeter." Weaver explained.

"Hal, you should go back inside." Tom suggested to his oldest, though one look at Hal's expression made it very clear to what he was going to say.

"Alright fine, you and Ben, come with me." Tom decided before Hal had a chance to speak. The two brothers each grabbed a gun and followed their father to the east perimeter, while Weaver went to the south.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Once they got there, they saw that Matt, Tector, Anthony, Maggie, and a woman with blonde hair that Hal learned was Sara.

"How many do skitters and Mechs do we got here?" Tom asked, getting into position beside Tector.

"Two Mechs, still not sure about the skitters though. They keeping ducking behind the buildings and those old cars. At lot from what we've seen." Tector informed him.

"What are you doing out here?" Maggie demanded to know as Hal came to kneel beside her.

"Not an invalid Mags." Hal responded. Maggie didn't have time to reply when a Mech started firing. They all started shooting back, but it was Pope with a well thrown bomb that finally took it out which revealed five skitters heading towards the makeshift barricade. Again, everyone on the line started firing at the invaders.

"You shouldn't be out here!" Maggie yelled over the gunfire.

"As if I'm going to let you guys have all the fun!" Hal yelled back, and Maggie fought the urge to grab his arm and drag him back to safety. Maggie was about to try and convince him to get out of here when Weaver showed up.

"Fighters got the south covered, not many skitters left. Thought you could use a hand." Weaver explained, taking position beside Tom.

"Got another grenade by any chance?" Tom wondered as the second Mech started heading towards them, more skitters taking cover behind it. Weaver smiled and pulled the small device from his jacket pocket. Pulling the ring off, the Colonel threw it at the Espheni robot and they all ducked as the Mech blew up, taking some skitters with it.

"Is that all of them?" Anthony asked, as they looked back at the street.

"Nope." Ben said when he saw at least 10 a little farther down the street, fighting against the rebel skitters. For minute, Ben wondered what the rebels were doing this close to the city when he remembered that they had new intel about another base the Espheni were making.

The soldiers moved closer to help the rebel skitters finish off the attackers, taking positions behind the abandoned cars that the alien were heading behind just a few minutes ago. The skitters saw them approach and started charging at them, and they started firing at them in return.

Ben didn't see that one started crawling the wall of the building that was beside them, not until it was about to jump on him. He moved his gun to kill it, but someone beat him to it. He turned his head to see that it was Hal who had shot it. At first he was just grateful that he had only less skitter to worry about, then he saw the look on his brother's face, the same glazed over expression and he knew what was happening.

"Oh no. No Hal, not now." Ben whispered.

Hal aimed his gun at the skitters and started firing, only needing one shot for each skitter. Everyone else stopped when they realized that Hal was killing the aliens with perfect accuracy. All watched with a mixture of confusion and fear, none of them knowing what was going on.

It didn't take long for Hal to kill the attacking skitters, and no one stopped him. After all, that was what they were going to do anyways. But when he finished, he didn't snap out of it like last time. He pointed his gun right at a rebel skitter.

"Hal! Hal stop!" Tom called out, moving closer, but Ben stood and watched. He was horrified that his brother would point a gun at their allies, but Hal wasn't pulling the trigger, and the rebel skitter didn't move away either. They just stared at each other.

"Hal, Hal drop the gun." Tom told Hal, his voice calmer. Hal didn't seem to hear him at all, and Ben knew from what happened last time that he didn't. Tom took a few steps closer, but didn't get right beside him, as he wasn't sure what was actually going on.

After a few drawn-out seconds, Hal opened his grip and the gun fell to the ground. When the sound of the weapon hitting the pavement reached Hal's ears, he broke out of his trance. He jerked his head, and looked around in confusion.

"What, what happened?" He asked, seeing the dead skitters and the one rebel still staring at him. When he looked back at the human fighters, he saw the fear and worry on their faces. He knew what happened, he remembered what he had suddenly saw, and what he did.

"Did, did I?" Hal couldn't even finish his question before he felt a huge weight on his chest, stopping oxygen from getting into his lungs. He slowly started walking backwards until he hit the wall of the building behind him.

"Hal? Hal, it's okay." Tom said, walking towards his oldest, though Hal shook his head at his father's words. Pressing himself hard against the wall, he slid down to the pavement.

Maggie also headed over to the young man and since she was closer, she got there before Tom did. She knelt to the ground in front of him while Tom sat down beside him.

"Hal, listen to me. It's okay." Maggie tried to calm him down, but to no avail.

"I killed them, I could've-" Hal started, then Maggie cut him off saying, "But you didn't. You killed the skitters that were attacking us. You didn't kill or hurt anyone else."

Hal could hear her, but it was as though he couldn't understand what she was saying. His head was hurting so bad it felt like someone was hammering nails into his skull. He felt like he couldn't breathe, and the images of the dead skitters kept playing in his mind. Tears started to well up in his eyes, slowly dripping out onto his cheeks.

Maggie knew from the way he was breathing and the horrified look in his eyes that he was having a panic attack. When she saw the tears making their way down his cheeks, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Tom laid one of his hands on Hal's back. She could barely hear him whisper, "It's okay."

Ben looked over at the other soldiers. Weaver looked wary, yet heartbroken at the sight of the young man, as did Anthony and Tector. Pope and Sara both looked confused, as though they didn't know what to think or do. Matt on the other hand, looked like he was about to cry at the sight of his big brother.

After seeing his little brother's face, Ben went over to him and wrapped on arm around him, trying to comfort him. Matt sank into the embrace, yet didn't return it, or take his eyes off of Hal. Ben on the other hand, looked to where the rebel skitter was standing, but saw nothing. The skitter was gone, leaving the humans with a bunch of dead skitters and a broken man.


	10. Where Will You Run

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing (surprise surprise)

 **AN** – This chapter is shorter than last chapter. I hope you all enjoy!

Tom was sitting on one of the chairs in the hospital room beside the bed where Hal was lying on, fast asleep. Once he had calmed down, Maggie and Tom brought him to the infirmary, with Ben and Matt following while Weaver made sure that Pope and the other soldiers kept what they had seen to themselves.

When they got Hal to the hospital, Anne led them to an empty room and had the young man lie down on the bed. She asked him a few questions, but he seemed to be in too much shock to answer any of them. The only thing he said was that his head was hurting. Anne then had Lourdes get some painkillers while she took another blood sample, wondering if there was something she had missed from the first test she ran.

Lourdes soon came back with the painkillers, Anne took the bottle, took out two pills, and gave them to Hal along with a cup of water. Less than ten minutes later, Hal was out cold. Anne then explained to the other people in the room that the painkillers were also sedatives, and that he would be out for a few hours. So, Tom, Maggie, Matt, and Ben got comfortable, none of them willing to leave him. Maggie and Tom sat in the chairs on each side of the bed, Ben sat in a chair at the foot of the bed where Matt was sitting.

"Tom? Weaver and Marina want to see you." Lourdes informed him from where she stood by the door. Tom looked away from the hospital bed where his son was sleeping to the doctor.

"I'll be right there." He told her, then looked back at Hal.

"Don't worry, we'll watch him." Maggie assured him. Tom nodded, got off the chair and left the room. He found Weaver on the other side of the hall with Marina.

"How's he doing?" Weaver asked as Tom came over to them.

"He's asleep, and he isn't injured or anything, but we don't know anything about what happened. Has word gotten around yet?" Tom questioned, knowing that once someone opened their mouth, the entire city would know within an hour.

"Anthony and Tec agreed to keep this quiet. Pope took a little more convincing, but Sara got him to agree. Tom, has Hal told you, or Maggie, or anyone about what happened during those five months, of what Karen did to him?" Weaver asked.

"He's only been back three weeks, and he's barely said anything, to anyone, about what happened. All we know is that he has been having random moments where he suddenly sees images and has no idea why, and Ben told me that what happened out there happened on patrol but Hal asked him not to say anything. That was all Hal had said, nothing about what actually happened." Tom informed the Colonel.

"And that's the problem. I know you don't want to push him to talk about what was obviously a traumatic experience, but we need to know what happened. If we are dealing with another mole situation, we have to know about it." Marine chimed in.

"If Karen really was making him into a mole again, when he blacked out, he wouldn't have been shooting at those skitters, he would've been shooting at us." Tom pointed out.

"He almost killed a rebel skitter, didn't he?" Marina argued.

"He probably didn't realize that it was a rebel, and he snapped out of it. He didn't actually kill him. Besides, Karen tried the mole thing before, and it failed. She's smart enough to know that it won't work a second time." Tom insisted.

"Be that as it may, we still need to know what we're dealing with. Tom, I'm not saying Hal's a spy, but there is something wrong and you know it. For all we know, whatever she did could kill him. We have to know." Weaver tried to stop the argument between the two leaders. Reluctantly, Tom nodded.

"When he wakes up, I'll talk to him, see if I can find out what happened. Anne's also going to be running more tests, see if she can find anything. I'll let you know, but for the meantime, let's try to keep all this quiet." Weaver and Marina had no objections to that.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal opened his eyes, and found himself in the infirmary, in the same room he was in before. He turned his head and found Maggie sitting in a chair beside him, her head resting on the bed by his shoulder, fast asleep. Turning his head the other way, he found his Dad, also sitting in chair, holding his hand, head down on the mattress.

When he felt something move by his feet, he looked to the foot of the bed and saw Matt, curled up in a ball on the mattress, his head by his legs. It was then he noticed the only other person awake. Ben. He was sitting on the end of the bed by Matt.

"How long was I out?" Hal asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't want to wake anyone.

"Well, it's morning now, so at least ten hours. You had us worried." Ben informed him, keeping his voice just as quiet, but Matt woke up, due to the fact he was right beside him.

"Hal, you're up." Matt stated, loudly enough to rouse Maggie and Tom from their sleep.

"How are you feeling?" Tom asked, moving to sit on the bed as Hal sat up.

"Kinda groggy," Hal stopped as the memory of Anne giving him two white pills came back and turned to his father asking, "Those weren't just painkillers Anne gave me, were they?"

"Nope. You needed to sleep." Tom explained. As though she had heard her name, Anne entered the room.

"Oh, you're up. Feeling better?" Anne repeated Tom's earlier question, as she came over to the group.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hal responded, trying to brush off their concern, though he knew it was hopeless. After what happened last night, there was no way they'd let anything he said slide.

"Good. Now nothing came up on the bloods tests we ran, so Kadar is working on finding way to get a closer look, just to make sure, but in the meantime, I'd like to run a CT scan." Anne informed them.

"What? Seriously? Look, Anne, I'm fine okay?" Hal turned to his Dad, hoping that he would come to his defense, but once he saw the look on his face, he knew that his Dad was siding with the doctor. He looked over at Maggie, and saw the same look on her face.

After a moment, Tom asked, "Guys, can I talk to Hal alone for a moment?"

Everyone nodded, and they all got up and headed to the door, leaving the father and son alone in the room. Tom moved to sit on the bed beside Hal.

"Hal, Maggie and Ben filled me, and Anne in on what you told them, and on what happened while you were on patrol. I know, for whatever reason, you don't want to be in here and have all these tests run on you, but we need to know what's going on. If you know what Karen did-"

"I don't." Hal cut his father off sharply. Seeing the startled look in his Dad's eyes, Hal explained calmly, "I don't know what she did. She never told me, and over half the time I was drugged out of my mind."

"Hal, we need to find out what she did. I don't believe she made you a spy again, neither do your brothers, Anne, Marina, or Weaver, but there is something going on. You can't deny that." Tom tried to get his son to understand, but Hal turned his gaze down to his lap, and Tom took a moment to look at him.

The bruises that were there had all but faded. The gauze that was wrapped around his wrists were gone with only the still healing marks to show that there had been damage to them. His skin was no longer as pale, nor was he as thin as he was. The only thing wrong Tom could see was the very subtle dark smudges under his eyes showing his lack of sleep.

"Hal, you don't remember this, but when you were bugged, and learned that we were going to use this skitter device to get the bug out, you started panicking, and tried to convince us that the bug was gone. You had said something earlier to Maggie that made it pretty clear it was still there, but you really made us question it." Tom revealed.

"Dad," Hal started, not really wanting to hear about what had happened, but then Tom cut him off.

"Just, hear me out." At Hal's reluctant nod, Tom continued, "I told that I was sorry, but I wasn't going to let the aliens take you from me." At that, Hal lifted his head and looked his father directly in the eyes, and saw the pain and desperation.

"Hal, they already took you from me once, and I am not willing to risk them doing it again. Son, I'm asking you to please, trust me, and let us find out what's wrong. Please." Tom begged, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. Hal looked down again, before nodding.

"Alright."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal sat on the table, his Dad and Maggie beside him. Ben and Matt were standing by the door, while Anne stood in front of her patient.

"So, this test will take between half-an-hour to an hour. All you have to do is lie as still as you can on the table while the machine above you will take the pictures. Then we'll be able to see if there's anything wrong. Any questions?" Anne checked. Hal shook his head and tried to hide the fear of lying down on a metal table. He had enough of that when he was with Karen, but he tried to remember that it was different this time.

"Alright, then let's get this over with. Let's go." Anne told them. Matt and Ben gave Hal reassuring smiles and left the room with Anne. Tom squeezed his son's shoulder before he followed his youngest boys. Maggie moved to stand in front of Hal, and gave him a small kiss on the lips before leaving the room as well. Hal was now alone.

Swallowing his fear, Hal laid down on his back, as straight as he could. The cold metal seemed to bite his skin and he felt the panic rise up inside him. Every instinct was telling him to get off and run as far way as he could, but he forced it down, and started counting the seconds until the test was over.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom, his sons, and Maggie stood in the hall. Anne was in the other room beside Hal's, working the other end of the machine. She didn't want everyone to crowd around her, so they were left to wait outside.

After they passed the half an hour period, they saw Weaver running around the corner towards them.

"Another skitter attack." The Colonel said, slightly out of breath.

"What? Another one?" Tom questioned, not recalling a time when the attacks had ever been so close together.

"Yeah, this one is bigger though. There's way more of them, super Mechs too. They're attacking on the east, south, and north perimeters." Weaver told them.

"You guys go, I'll stay with Hal." Maggie promised the family. Tom nodded, then they all ran towards the surface, leaving Maggie alone in the hallway.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

The minute the door opened, Hal sat up. He was tempted to run out of the room, but he held himself back. Maggie came inside, but there was no sign on his Dad, Anne, or his brothers.

"The Espheni are attacking outside. They went to take care of it. And Anne is just looking over the pictures, she'll be here soon." Maggie answered his unspoken question.

Maggie came over and sat down on the table beside him. She could see how tense he was, and that he was clenching his jaw. She knew he wanted out of the room, and having to wait was becoming difficult, so she reached over and cupped his fist with her hand.

Hal looked over at her when he felt her fingers on his fist. Slowly, he unclenched the hand and let her slip her fingers in his, and held her hand tightly. That was when the door opened and Anne came in, with a regretful and pained look on her face.

Without saying a word, she crossed the room to the other end where there was one a metal device, hung up a picture on it, and turned the light on, revealing an x-ray of a person's brain.

"This, is an x-ray of someone who doesn't have anything wrong with them." Anne informed them, then put up another picture beside it and said, "This one is yours."

Neither Hal or Maggie needed to be a doctor to see the difference between the two. Hal's had different colors on it, and there were some parts that looked completely different then the other one.

"If you look closely right here at the base of the skull," Anne told them, pointing at the edge of the picture, right under where Hal's left ear was, "you can see a small fracture, that was actually a crack in your skull. Looking at the bone, and the muscles around it show that all of them in that area are at three different stages of healing. It means, that they cut into your skull at three times Hal."

Anne explained it to them very plainly, so they understood, and she tried to keep her voice professional, but seeing what they had done to the young man, as well as his and Maggie's expressions made it hard. Maggie looked at the scans in disbelief, while Hal looked like he was having trouble thinking. After a moment, Hal slowly brought his free hand, that one that Maggie wasn't holding up the healed cut behind his ear, the spot where the aliens had accessed his brain.

"Four." Hal whispered so quietly that Anne barely heard it.

"What?" Anne asked, taking a few steps closer to the table.

"They made that cut four times, not three." Hal told the two girls in the room.

"When did they make the fourth one?" Anne questioned, coming to stand in front of him.

"Right before I escaped. An alarm started going off right after this harnessed kid made the cut, and she dropped it on the table I was on and she, and these two skitters left. I used the scalpel to get free." Hal explained. This was the very first time he had said anything about what happened while he was held captive.

"Then, that means they didn't have time to cut into your skull." Anne responded.

"Meaning, they didn't finish whatever they were doing." Maggie realized. Anne nodded, also coming to the same conclusion, while Hal felt any food he had in his stomach start to make its way to his mouth.

He moved off the table and ran out of the room, unaware of Anne calling his name, and Maggie following him. Hal ran to the nearest bathroom he could find, and bent down in front of the toilet just in time. As his stomach emptied itself, he felt someone's hand rub his back comfortingly.

Once he was done, he sat up and moved to sit against the wall, seeing that it was Maggie who was with him. She also moved from her position to sit in front of him, her hand going to his shoulder, while he wiped his mouth with his wrist.

"Feel any better?" Maggie asked. Hal shook his head. Even though his stomach was now empty, he still felt the need to vomit, and his mind couldn't stop racing with what he had just learned. He may now know what was wrong, but he had more questions than ever, and was even more terrified of what the answers were.

"Why don't we get out of here, back to our room?" Maggie suggested, but Hal saw a few flaws in that plan.

"My Dad, and Anne, they'll want to run more tests, try and figure out what they did." Hal pointed out.

"They have the pictures, Anne can use those, and given what we just found out, I don't think anyone would blame you for wanting to be alone right now. Come on, let's go." Maggie told him, and she helped him to his feet. Hal wrapped an arm around her shoulders, feeling as though his legs would collapse under him. Maggie slid her arm around his waist in response.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." Maggie whispered, and Hal didn't have to point out that she was wrong. She already knew it.

 **AN** – Yes, I'm finally giving you guys some answers. I know, there are still questions but don't worry, we'll get to them in the next couple of chapters.


	11. Was The Decision Ever Mine

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing.

 **AN** – So this chapter and last chapter were originally only one chapter, but I had to split it otherwise it would've been too long. So here is chapter 11, where you will get some more answers. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

It was over an hour before Tom, Ben, and Matt came back. Anne was waiting for them, sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway

"How did it go?" She asked when she saw them approach.

"Good, though we lost three people, and another five were injured. How did it go here? Where's Hal and Maggie?" Tom wondered.

"Hal and Maggie went to their room. Come on, I have to show what I found." Anne told the family and went back into the x-ray room with Tom, Ben, and Matt behind her.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"They cut into his skull, into his brain?" Tom asked with complete shock and disbelief looking at Anne. Ben and Matt stared at the scan on the board, horror filled expressions on their faces.

"Yeah, I'm still not exactly sure what they did though. All I can really tell is that this part of his brain appears to be far more active than it should be, this one looks as though there's a different chemical or something in it, and I have no idea what is going on in this section." Anne told them while pointing to different parts of the scan.

"And there's something else. Hal told me that he remembers them making this incision four times, not three." Anne added as she turned to face them.

"What does that mean?" Ben asked.

"It means, that they never finished whatever they were trying to do." Anne explained.

"So, Karen's going to come after him again." Tom concluded.

"I'd say that's a safe bet." Anne agreed. Tom was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. It opened, revealing Lourdes on the other side.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Deni's here. She says that the rebel skitter leader wants to talk to Tom and Ben." The young doctor informed them.

"Ben, you go with Deni, tell her and the rebel leader I'll be right there. I'm just gonna check on Hal first." Tom told his middle son. Ben nodded and followed Lourdes out of the room, while Tom turned to his youngest boy.

"Matt, why don't you go find Lexi? Jeanne's been looking after her all day." Tom suggested, but Matt had a different idea.

"But I want to see Hal." He protested.

"Matt, please." Tom asked again. Matt looked as though he wanted to argue, but ultimately nodded, and left the room.

"So, there's nothing we can do about this, is there? We can't fix or reverse this." Tom asked, though he knew the answer.

"No, it's a human brain. Even before the invasion, our information on the brain was very limited, and doing any sort of operation on it was very risky. We can't reverse it. The best we can do, is find out what he can apparently do now, and try to control it." Anne confirmed. Tom nodded, then headed to the door when Anne called out.

"Tom? I know you're freaked out, and beyond ticked off about what Karen did, but Hal is feeling the same thing, times ten. He needs his family to be there for him more than he needs someone to go on a vengeance trip." Anne told him, knowing how much Tom wanted Karen to pay for everything she had done. Tom didn't say anything, and continued out of the room.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Maggie sat on the bed beside Hal. He was lying on his back, head by her leg, as she ran her fingers through his hair. He hadn't said a word since they entered the room almost two hours ago. He just laid down and closed his eyes, though she knew he wasn't sleeping. He kept opening his eyes to look at her, as though he was trying to make sure this was all real. She couldn't imagine what he kept seeing behind his closed eyelids.

Then, she noticed that he was staring to shake, but no tears slipped through his eyelids. He was trying to hold it in, though was failing. It was then that she started running her through his hair, pushing it away from his face. She wanted him to know that she was there, that he was safe. Slowly, he seemed to calm down, but not enough to go to sleep.

A knock on the door caused Hal to open his eyes. His brown irises found hers, then went to the door. Neither Hal or Maggie had time to do or say anything before it opened slowly and Tom Mason peaked inside.

"It's okay. You stay here." Maggie told the young man before she got up from the bed and headed to the door, closing it behind her.

"How is he?" Tom asked.

"Well, after Anne told us what she found, he ran to the nearest washroom and threw up. Since then, he's barely said a word. He's pretty freaked out." Maggie informed the father, "Though he was curious if you needed to do more tests."

"Not at the moment. Anne told me that Hal said he remembers that they cut into him four times?" Tom confirmed.

"Yeah. He said that it was just after the fourth time did he escape. They never finished. The minute Karen realizes he's here, she's going to try and take him again, isn't she?" Tom nodded.

"I'm starting to wonder if she already knows. Two skitter attacks in less than 24 hours, that's never happened before." Tom revealed.

"We have to kill her. She needs to pay for what she's done, and it's the only way to keep Hal safe." Maggie decided.

"I agree. Keep an eye on him, will you? I had Matt go take care of Lexi, and I have to go with Ben and Deni. The rebel leader wants to talk to us, so Hal shouldn't have to deal with anyone smothering him." Tom told the soldier.

"Rebel skitter wants to talk about what happened last night?" Maggie wondered.

"That would be my guess. I'll come by later." Maggie nodded and watched Tom head down the hallway and turn the corner before she went back into the bedroom.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal couldn't really hear what his father and Maggie were saying, but he had a pretty good idea. Shifting over to his side, with his back to the door, he closed his eyes. His entire body was exhausted. It was as though it settled deep into his bones, yet he couldn't sleep. His mind wouldn't stop racing.

Soon enough, he heard the door open again, and light footsteps coming over to the bed. Maggie's footsteps. The end of the mattress dipped as she sat down on the edge before moving to sit right behind him. Then he felt her hand on his arm.

"You still awake?" Maggie asked, her voice quiet as she didn't want to wake him if he was. Slowly, Hal nodded.

"My brain doesn't seem to have an off switch." Hal said.

"I could go see if Anne has something to help you sleep." The blonde suggested, and instantly Hal shook his head.

"No. No drugs." Hal responded.

"Hal, please, tell me what happened. Let me help you." Maggie pleaded. Hal turned to lie on his back again, and looked up at her. After several minutes, he opened his mouth.

"Once I walked onto the ship, Karen led me to this room and locked me inside. I could feel the ship take off. I don't know how long I was there until she came back. She told me to follow her, but I told her that I wanted answers first. She said that she'll tell me everything I need to know if I went with her, so I did. We ended up on another side of the ship, the only part that seemed to have a window. We were in space. She said that she wanted the war to end as much as we did, and that there was a way to do it. We humans just had to surrender and the Overlords wouldn't kill us." Hal revealed.

"If she thought we would just surrender and live as their slaves, she's insane." Maggie commented.

"And I told her as such. She said the only other option was to fight and die for nothing, because we were going to lose. I then said that we would rather die than live like that. She told me she wanted me to help her get the humans on her side. I told her there was no way. After I said that, she walked towards me and said she was sorry, and before I could figure out what she meant, she stabbed a needle, into my neck." Once Hal finished, he looked down, away from Maggie's eyes.

"Then what happened?" Maggie questioned, moving her hand to push back his dark hair. Hal didn't say anything, and he didn't look back up at her. Slowly, she lowered her hand so her palm was resting on his cheek.

"Hal?"

"I went with her, on my own free will. But, that didn't mean she had the right to," Hal broke off, feeling his throat catch.

"No, Karen didn't have any right to do this to you. You only went with her to save Anne and Lexi." Maggie pointed out.

"And she knew I would. She had this planned, and knew exactly what I would do, how I would respond. It was like, I didn't even have a choice. I had to save Anne and Lexi, and while I did, I ended up being a subject to Karen. There never was a choice, no decision, and Karen knew that." Hal said miserably.

"Hal, baby, look at me." Maggie said. Slowly, his brown eyes met hers.

"I know, what it's like, to not have a choice. It feels like you have no control, like you're nothing more than a puppet. But trust me when I say this, we will get payback. She is not going to get away with this." Maggie told him, her voice left little room for argument.

"What if she goes after you? Or Matt, Ben, Dad? I can't let anything happen to you." Hal responded.

"Nothing is going to happen to us, or you, because she's not going to get that far. We'll stop her. As a team, remember?" Hal gave her a small smile hearing those words, which Maggie returned and he nodded, though she could see he was still struggling with all he learned.

"Tell me how I can help." Maggie wanted to know. Hal lifted his head and kissed her. As he pulled away, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Lie here with me?" Hal asked, as Maggie placed her head on his chest, and wrapped her arms around him.

"Anytime."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom entered the boardroom to see the rebel leader standing beside Deni, while Ben stood in front of them. Ben looked over to the door when he heard it open.

"How's Hal?" He asked as Tom came to stand beside him.

"Still trying to figure that out. Rebel Leader, what can I do for you?" Tom wondered, looking at the skitter.

"Actually, I am here to help you." The skitter responded, using Deni to talk instead of Ben, "Last night, your eldest son killed many Espheni and almost killed one of ours."

"Yes, and I apologize for that. As you well know, he was held captive by Karen for five months, and we are still trying to find out what she did to him." Tom told the alien.

"We already know." Deni's voice answered.

"Wait, what?" Ben questioned, confusion on both his and Tom's face.

"The skitter told me he felt another presence inside his mind, and realized it was your son, Hal. It was very subtle, but when he determined what was happening, he opened his mind up to your son to show that he was not a threat, and your son stopped. It has not been the first time that something like this has happened. I noticed it myself a few times when I came to talk to you about destroying the new Espheni army they were planning to unleash on Charleston. I merely thought though that is was either Deni or Ben." The rebel leader explained.

"Your saying, that Karen cut into my son's brain, and changed it so he could enter into the Espheni's mind?" Tom tried to understand.

"The simple act of doing such a surgery would only be part of it, but yes. And if what you said is true, that he was not aware of what he was doing, that he was doing it subconsciously, then he is very powerful. And I highly doubt that the Overlord Karen meant to do that." The skitter informed him.

"Is that going to make him more of a target?" Ben asked, now terrified for his older brother's safety. He remembered when the Overlords were coming after him, and did not want Hal to go through that either.

"Yes, but most likely not in the way you are thinking." The skitter answered. The alien took Tom and Ben's silence as the waiting for him to explain, so he did.

"While the Overlord Karen might have had a plan, a reason to do such a thing, if Hal is able to enter an Espheni's mind the way he has without knowing it, then he would have no problem entering an Overlord's mind as well. He would be able to do it with far more ease than your other son has, and the Overlords will fear this. If Karen is not able to finish her plan,"

"They'll try to kill Hal." Tom finished the sentence.

"Yes. They will."


	12. Still Breathing

**Disclaimer** \- Still own nothing.

 **Enjoy!**

 _"I survived but I paid for it"_ \- **_The World was Wide Enough_ , Hamilton**

Despite his attempts, Hal didn't sleep, and he was sure that Maggie didn't either. Even though questions and mixed emotions were running through him, just being with Maggie brought him a sense of peace. The moment however, was interrupted by a knock on the door.

The two of them sat up, both wondering who it was as they doubted Tom would come to check on them again already. Neither of them had a chance to respond when the door opened, and Matt appeared on the other side.

"Hey buddy." Hal greeted.

"Is it okay if we come in?" Matt inquired. Hal was about to ask who 'we' was, when he saw Lexi standing behind him. Hal smiled and nodded. Matt grinned and the two youngest Masons entered the room. Lexi immediately ran over and jumped on the bed beside Hal and the couple on the bed laughed at the little girl.

"Hey Lexi. What have you been up too?" Hal asked, ruffling the child's hair with his hand as Matt also came over to the bed, but at a walk instead of a run, and sat down near Maggie.

"Jeanne took me to see the horses, and I got to feed them treats!" Lexi exclaimed, a bright smile filled her face.

"Oh yeah? Well, I hope you didn't wreck their supper." Hal joked as Lexi shook her head.

"I didn't. Are you okay? Mommy said that you were in the hospital, that something bad happened?" Lexi asked. Hal looked into his little sister's big, brown eyes. Her eyes showed the light and innocence only a child could have, and Hal didn't know how to respond, how to explain what was happening, so he didn't.

"I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about." Hal responded with a smile. Lexi bought this, and started telling him everything that she did that day, and Hal couldn't help but laugh along with her, remembering how Matt was the same when he was this age. He was completely oblivious to the looks that Maggie and Matt exchanged behind his back.

Matt watched his oldest brother and little sister with a slight smile, but the worry that he'd been feeling since yesterday remained balled up in his stomach. He always knew that his brother was an expert at hiding what was truly going on, but as he got older, he started seeing through the lies, and wondered how he missed it in the first place.

Lexi seemed completely okay with Hal's answer, but he wasn't. And he knew from the look Maggie gave him, that she wasn't either, yet they let it slide. Only because they knew Lexi wouldn't understand.

It was only about an hour after Matt and Lexi came in before there was another knock on the door.

"Well, aren't we popular." Hal commented as Maggie went to answer it. She opened the door to find Tom standing on the other side.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal lifted his hand and rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the pounding headache he was getting as he listened to his father.

"You're saying, that the reasons I keep getting random images, and blacking out, is because I am connecting to the skitters mind?" Hal questioned, looking up at his father. Tom was sitting beside Anne at the table, while Maggie sat beside him. Ben, Weaver, and Dr. Kadar had taken their spots on the other side of the table.

"That's what he said." Tom confirmed.

"And it makes sense. If you were connecting with them, then you knew exactly where they were and where to shoot at." Ben chimed in.

"I think I would notice if I was connecting with an alien's mind." Hal stated.

"Hal, Maggie said that you told her that one of the images you saw was a valley filled with skitters and Mechs right?" Tom questioned. When Hal nodded, Ben lifted what looked to be some photographs and slid them across the table to his older brother.

Hal picked up the pictures to look at them, and couldn't hide his shock. The pictures showed the exact image he had seen, right down to the Overlord in the background.

"I take it this is what you saw? This is the place the rebel skitters were telling us about. It's the place we attacked a few days ago. You saw this through the rebel leader's mind. You have been connecting to his mind since the day after we found you." Tom revealed.

"Lexi." The name slipped out of Hal's mouth before he could stop it, as he remembered the day he heard her voice in his head.

"What about Lexi?" Anne wondered, barely catching what Hal said.

"That night, after I saw you guys for the first time, after the drug wore off, Lexi came into the room by herself. It was the first time I saw since, since you two walked off the ship. I said hi, she smiled and, and I heard her voice, in my head. She didn't open her mouth, but I could hear it as clearly as if she actually said it. I didn't say anything because I thought I was still feeling effects of the drug, or if it was something she could because she's part Espheni. It hasn't happened since, so I figured that was the case." Hal told them.

"She does have Espheni DNA. It is very possible that it gives her the ability to enter their minds the same as Ben and Hal." Kadar concluded.

"But you said the rebel leader also told you that Karen cutting into my brain alone wouldn't have made me capable of this." Hal remembered.

"Your right, but those brain operations she did on you weren't the only thing that she did Hal." Anne responded, then looked over at Kadar.

"I used some of the Volm technology and mixed it with a microscope to get a better look at your blood sample, and found there's a chemical running through your bloodstream that shouldn't be there. At first, I thought it was the same type of fluid that Ben has due to his spikes, but when I looked closer, it's not. It has many of the same components, but it's not the exact same." Kadar explained.

"But I still don't have spikes. And I'm pretty sure I would've realized if I had super strength by now too." Hal pointed out.

"No, you don't. This leads me to believe that it's not the spikes that enable your brother to connect with the skitters, but the fluid in both of your systems. And like I said before, the fluid is not the same. You don't appear to have the added strength or stamina as Ben does, and that could be because of the differences. Not to mention that it's the spikes that keep pumping the fluid into Ben, while yours is just in your system and isn't leaving." Kadar reported.

"So, why? Why would Karen do that? If she wanted to control me, why wouldn't she just harness me, or put another eyebug in me?" Hal asked, hoping someone at least had a theory. Judging from the looks on everyone's faces, they did not.

"We'll figure it out. The important thing right now though, is that you learn to control this, and you stay out of any fights and missions." Tom decided.

"Wait, what?" Hal asked, his voice full of disbelief.

"Hal, if Karen, or the Overlords learns you're here, they'll target you. The only way to keep you safe, is if you stay hidden." Tom explained.

"Not to mention this is a security risk Hal. If you can enter a skitter's, or an Overlord's mind, they're likely able to do the same to you." Weaver added. That stopped Hal from arguing. He may want to help fight, but not at the cost of risking peoples lives.

"So, what now?" Hal asked no one in particular.

"Now, we go on as if there's nothing wrong, at least in public. We don't need the city panicking. But I think you should meet with Ben and the rebel skitters, see if they can teach you how to control this new ability. And this time, if something feels wrong or if something happens, tell me, or Anne." Tom ordered. Hal nodded, agreeing to his father's decision.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

The next two weeks passed by faster than Hal would've thought. Slowly, he settled into a new routine, one where instead of getting back into the fight, he would meet up with Ben in a secluded spot in either the mall, or another spot in the city where no one could watch them. Maggie started taking up more shifts, now that everything had settled down somewhat, while Anne and Kadar continued working on figuring what Hal could theoretically do.

"Come on Hal. It's like you're not even trying." Ben commented as Hal failed to get into his head, for the fifth try that day.

"Well, it's not as if you're actually teaching me how to do it either." Hal shot back, sitting down on one of the chairs in the empty room.

"I can't actually tell you how to do it, because I use my spikes, which you don't have. So, the way you would go about it will be different than the way I do it." Ben explained, though he had said it many times before.

"Maybe I can only do it with people who have Espheni DNA, like the skitters or Lexi." Hal suggested.

"I doubt it's that specific. If anything, I think the only thing holding you back is you. You don't want people looking at you and seeing you as a threat or a freak." Ben stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm already a threat and a freak, even if I can't do it. And no, that's not it." Hal replied, his frustration with his younger brother mounting.

"Alright, then, maybe I should try getting into your head." Ben thought out loud.

"My little brother entering my mind, seeing who knows what? Yeah, not liking that thought either." Hal said, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"Well, I'm out of ideas, so you come up with something. You know that neither Dad or Weaver are going to let you fight again until you learn how to control whose mind you enter and who can enter yours." Ben pointed out.

"I've been back for over a month. I think that if aliens were entering my mind to steal secrets, we would've noticed by now." Hal reasoned.

"One, as far as we know, they have no idea that you're here. Two, it's not like you've been given a lot of access to what we've been doing since you came back." Ben stated.

"Alright, fine. Just, walk me through it again." Hal said.

"Okay. First, you need to lower your guard, you have to open up your mind, see if there's anything or anyone around you." Ben started.

"Yeah, how do I do that? How do I open up my mind?" Hal questioned.

"Just relax. Don't try to keep everything you're feeling or thinking locked inside. Just let your mind relax." Ben instructed.

Hal took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He tried to force himself to relax, but found it harder than he thought it would be. He hated closing his eyes, hated not knowing who was around him and what they were doing even though he knew the only person in the room was Ben, and that he wasn't a threat.

Suddenly, Hal felt something. He couldn't really describe it, it was something like a tingle, that was brushing up against the back of his head. His brows furrowed in concentration, trying to find out what it was. The minute he focused on it, the world faded away.

 _He was running through the woods, skitters all around him. He came to a small clearing, and there stood a woman, with straight blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. Karen. She smiled, and looked forward. The skitter, whose eyes Hal assumed he was seeing through, turned his head to look at what Karen was staring at. Charleston._

With a gasp, Hal came back to the present. Ben had moved to stand in front of him, his hands on his shoulders.

"Hal? Hal, what happened?" Ben asked worriedly. Everything had been going fine, as far as he knew, then it was like his brother wasn't there anymore. He tried to snap him out of it, but he couldn't. Then Hal gasped and opened his eyes in a panic.

"They're, they're coming. Skitters, lots of them. Karen too."


	13. All Bets Are Off

**Disclaimer** – Own nothing, which shouldn't surprise anyone at this point. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

 _"_ _You have no idea what it's like when the monster from your nightmares comes back for you."_ – **Criminal Minds**

Hal and Ben ran through the hallways towards their Dad's office. After hearing what Hal said about the threat of being attacked again, they knew they had to warn him. Once they got there, they both entered the room, quickly finding their Dad sitting behind the desk, Weaver in one of the chairs in front of it. The adults both looked up when they heard them.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked worriedly, seeing the looks on his sons faces.

"Skitter attack." Ben answered, then looked over at Hal, silently indicating for him to tell Tom what he saw.

"I don't know when, but soon, very soon. There were lots of them Dad. And Karen's with them." Hal told his father. Both Tom and Weaver stood up at hearing that, and Tom looked Hal directly in the eyes.

"Are you sure?" Tom questioned, and Hal nodded.

"How do you know?" Weaver asked. Hal turned his attention over to the Colonel.

"When Ben was trying to teach me to enter his mind, I accidentally connected to a skitter's mind instead. Through him, I saw Karen, and where they are. They're just outside the city in the trees. I could feel that they're going to attack soon. Within 24 hours." Hal explained.

"We got to get out some patrols, find out what we're dealing with. Do you have any idea which spot in the perimeter they're going to attack?" Tom asked, pulling his coat off the back of the chair and slipping it on as Weaver left the room to go get the soldiers on duty ready.

"No." Hal replied.

"Ben, go find Deni and go with the patrols we'll send out, see if you two can sense anything. Hal, you stay here in the building." Tom ordered.

"But Dad-" Hal started to protest before Tom cut him off.

"Hal, stay here, alright? The last thing we need is for Karen to know you're here." Tom said, moving towards the door.

"If she thinks I'm here, she's going to come anyways. That's probably why she's actually with the skitter attack this time." Hal pointed out.

"We don't know that for sure. And if she sees you there, she might kill everyone out there just to get to you." Tom tried to convince him.

"You are really trying to guilt me into this." Hal realized. Tom came over to him, and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Yes. If it keeps you here, if it keeps you safe, then yes. I am not going to lose you, not again. Hal please, just stay here." Tom begged.

Hal looked into his eyes and saw nothing but desperation. His Dad had a point, if Karen didn't know he was here, she might assume he's not and back off, or maybe there was a different reason she was here. Reluctantly, Hal nodded.

Tom pressed a quick kiss on Hal's forehead and left the room. Hal stared at the door for a few moments, then sat down in one of the chairs and waited.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

It wasn't more than a few minutes later when Hal started hearing the gunfire, and the sound of Mechs firing back. They were attacking sooner than he thought. Hal could see people running down the hall through the glass doors, but he stayed in his seat.

His attention was drawn back to the door when he heard someone opening it. It was Matt.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Hal asked as Matt came over and sat down in the chair beside him.

"Heard that Dad wouldn't let you help. Thought you might like some company." Matt answered.

"In other words, Dad sent you to make sure I stayed put." Hal concluded. Matt couldn't hide the sheepish grin.

"He didn't want you to do anything stupid. He thought you would be more hesitant to join the fight if I was with you." Matt explained, but Hal sat silently.

"I'm not allowed to fight, and I'm being babysat by my youngest brother." Hal stated, his voice had a bit of a bitter edge to it.

"For what it's worth, I don't agree with Dad. If anyone has the right to kick Karen's a**, it's you." Matt told him.

"Watch your mouth. But Dad also has a point. If staying hidden keeps Karen from attacking the entire city and killing everyone, then it's for the best." Hal said.

"She's going to attack and try to kill everyone anyways. What difference does it make if you're fighting or not?" Matt pointed out.

"True, but not yet. Not until I'm sure that she won't get into my head. If I can get into a skitter's mind, odds are she can get into my mine. I don't want to be a threat to you, or anyone else. I just wish that I knew what was happening." Hal told him, as he stood up and started pacing around the room.

"Why don't you find out? If this, connecting with their minds thing, works kinda the way is does with Ben, then can't you connect with his mind and see through his eyes?" Matt wondered.

"I haven't been able to do that yet. Connecting with that skitter earlier was an accident. Besides, I don't know exactly how I did it." Hal replied, stopping in his tracks.

"Well, what were you thinking about when you connected to the skitter?" Matt questioned.

"I was just trying to relax, but I couldn't. It was like I was feeling completely exposed."

"You were still scared that someone might threaten you. You were trying to identify any threats. That's why you could connect with the skitter, because it was a threat." Matt realized.

"You think I was subconsciously connecting to the skitters this entire time because I've been feeling threatened?" Hal tried to understand, though was doubtful.

"Well, haven't you? Anne said that hyper vigilance is the feeling of being constantly under threat, and while it seems to have gone away, I still see how you always look around, try to see who's with you, and what's going on. Not to mention the minute anyone does anything you weren't expecting, you either flinch or jump." Matt revealed.

Hal didn't know what to say about that. Instead, he thought about what his younger brother said, and realized he was right. Every time he accidentally connected to a skitter, he was looking for anything or anyone that could threaten him or the people he cared about. On the patrol with Ben, and in the attack a few weeks ago, he was worried about his family and Maggie, that they would get hurt.

"When did you get so smart?" Hal asked.

"Probably when you weren't looking. Keep in mind I know how you think and act better than Dad and Ben do." Matt pointed out.

"Okay genius, what do I do?"

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben continued firing at the skitters that were charging the barricade. Hal was right, there were a lot, even more than there were in the last attack. So far though, there had been no sign of Karen.

"Ben! There's more taking cover over there!" Deni yelled over the gunfire, pointing over to a building that many skitters and two Mechs were hiding behind. It appeared that was where the aliens were coming from.

"Dad! They're coming from over there!" Ben called out to his father. Tom looked up from the skitter he was killing, to turn his gaze to where his middle son was pointing.

Tom moved to stand beside Ben, and watched as skitters kept coming around the corner. After every few minutes, a Mech came too. They needed to know how many there were, and where they were all coming from. The President looked around trying to see which soldiers would be best to send out in probably the most dangerous spot.

"Pope! Maggie! Deni! You all come with us! Weaver give us some cover!" Tom ordered as he and Ben made their way past the barricade towards the building where the skitters seemed to be coming from

As they kept firing at the oncoming skitters, Ben felt something brush against his head. He looked around but didn't see anything. Then it happened again, a little more forceful, and Ben realized that it was in his mind. It was almost like when a skitter or an Overlord entered his mind, but it was different. This was less sure, like the person didn't know for sure what he was doing, and Ben immediately figured out who it was, and he opened his mind to the person.

 _Hal?_

The response was almost immediate. He felt his brother's tension, confusion, and yet gladness that he finally got through.

 _Ben, what's happening?_ Ben heard Hal's question.

 _Lots of skitters and Mechs, but don't worry. We got it._ Ben assured him, then tried his best to push his older brother out of his head. He could barely concentrate on the attacking skitters with Hal talking to him through his mind like that. And Hal didn't need to know what was going on. It would just make him want to help even more.

Following his father, with Deni, Maggie, and Pope behind him, he made his way to the building safely thanks to Weaver and the other soldiers covering them. Once they turned the corner though, they had to start firing instantly, because there were so many of them. It never seemed to end.

Then, he saw her. Karen, standing less than half a mile away, flanked by two super Mechs. Turning to look at his Dad, Ben found that he saw her too, and he looked beyond furious. Tom attacked the skitters with new found strength, wanting to get a chance to get at the girl who had caused the family so much pain. Ben felt another presence entire his mind, but it wasn't Hal. It was dark, and filled with malice. The only time he felt something like this was when he entered an Overlord's mind.

Ben looked up at Karen, and saw that her gaze was fixed on him. It was her, trying to get into his mind. He could feel her push harder against the walls he was so desperately trying to keep up. The fight between his mind and hers caused a painful headache and he fell to his knees.

"Ben!" Tom called out at seeing his son fall. He killed the skitter he was shooting at and ran the boy's side.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Tom asked, placing his hand on Ben's back.

"Karen, she's, she's in my head. She's trying to find something." Ben answered, hands balled up by his temples.

Tom picked up his gun from where he placed it on the ground and started firing again, though not at the skitters this time, but at Karen. Unfortunately, he was too far away to do any damage. Upon realizing what Tom was doing, the rest of the group figured out what was wrong with Ben, but there wasn't much they could do, besides protect him, and stop Karen.

Deni ran to Ben's side, and pulled him back around the building from where they came, giving them some cover. Pope and Maggie stayed with Tom, trying to finish off the skitters so they could get to the human Overlord.

"Ben, what do you need? How do we stop this?" Deni asked, her voice filled with concern and desperation.

"Stop Karen." Ben managed to say, but only barely. In the last few minutes since he told his Dad what was happening, Karen's assault in his mind doubled in strength. Random images, memories of the last few weeks started running through his mind like a slideshow, and Ben suddenly realized what she was looking for. Hal.

The middle Mason tried harder to push her out, but the harder he tried, the more she pushed, and she was stronger than him. Ben was dimly aware of Weaver coming over to them, but he couldn't really hear what the man was saying, though he did hear Deni's voice. He assumed she was filling the Colonel in.

Ben felt his last wall break, and the memory of being with Hal just minutes earlier flooded his mind. Karen now knew that he was here, in Charleston.

As soon as the Overlord got what she was looking for, she was gone, just as fast as she had come. Ben opened his eyes to see Deni and Weaver kneeling by his side.

"She knows. Karen knows Hal's here." Ben told them, tasting blood on his lips. He was so focused on Karen he didn't notice that his nose started to bleed.

"Deni, go tell Tom. Ben, are you alright?" Weaver asked as Deni took off to go find the President.

"I'm fine. I got to warn Hal." Ben told Weaver as he pushed himself to his feet. He wavered slightly, then started running back into the building with Weaver following.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

After Ben cut him off, Hal continued his pacing around the office. Matt still sat in the chair, watching his brother try to wear a hole in the floor.

"I'm sure everything's fine." Matt tried to assure his brother. Hal looked like he was about to say something, when they heard footsteps running through the hall. The door burst open and Ben ran inside, Weaver at his heels.

"What happened?" Hal questioned. Seeing the blood on his other younger brother's face, he quickly went over to him and put his hands on Ben's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Hal asked, trying to meet his eyes, but Ben was looking everywhere but at Hal.

"Ben, what's going on? What happened?" Hal repeated harshly.

"Karen. She, she got in my head. I tried to stop her, but I couldn't. She knows you're here." Ben revealed.

Hal froze once the words reached his ears. Fear started to grip his heart and he shoved it down, but not before Ben saw it in his eyes. He let go of his brother, and backed away, running his hand over his face.

After taking a deep breath, he turned to Weaver, "Is she still out there?"

"As far as we know, yes. Your Dad was trying to get at her the minute he realized what she was doing, but she was too far away, and the skitters were still coming at them." Weaver answered. Hal took a moment to absorb those words before he started moving towards the door. Weaver grabbed the young man's arm and stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Weaver asked, though he was positive he knew the answer.

"Where do you think? I'm not letting my Dad, Maggie, and all those other soldiers out there die if she's only doing this because of me." Hal replied, trying to shrug off the older man's arm, but the grip only tightened.

"We don't know for sure what she wants, Hal." Weaver stated.

"Considering what she did to Ben, I think that it's a safe bet that we do." Hal pointed out, and again tried to pull his arm out of Weaver's grip, and again, failed.

"Weaver, let-" Hal's broke off with a gasp as a sudden pain flared up in his skull. He raised the arm that the Colonel wasn't holding up to his head and closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain.

"Hal? Hal, what is it?" Weaver asked and at that moment, Hal's legs buckled beneath him. If it wasn't for Weaver's quick reflexes he would've fallen to the ground, but the Colonel was there to catch him. Ben and Matt immediately ran to their brother's side as Weaver lowered him to the ground.

"Hal! Hal, are you okay?" Matt asked, not even bothering to hide his panic as he got to his knees beside his oldest brother. Ben kneeled down beside Matt while Weaver sat by Hal's other side.

Hal barely heard what his baby brother said, only the panic in his voice. He felt hands on his arms, yet didn't know who they belonged to. Once the sudden pain subsided a little, he became aware of another presence in his head.

 _Hello Hal. I thought you would be here._ Karen's voice echoed in his head.

Weaver didn't know what to do. Hal wouldn't stop shaking. It almost as though he was having a seizure. He and Ben tried to hold the young man down, but Hal fought against them. Then, he opened his eyes. They weren't brown anymore. They were glowing a bright blue, the same blue that Ben's spikes would glow when he would connect with the skitters. It was seconds after that, that Hal spoke.

"Karen." Hal managed to whisper. More voices echoed in his ears, but his focus wasn't on that. His focus, was on staying still. He felt as though she was trying to force him to move. He could feel his arms and legs trying to position themselves so he would stand up, but he forced them to stay down against the floor.

 _Come on Hal. Come back with me. If you do, I'll stop attacking Charleston,_ Karen told him. It was a lie. She may stop the attack she was currently launching, but she'd come back, and attack again or get another Overlord to do it, because there was no way his Dad or the people of Charleston would surrender. That didn't mean he wasn't tempted though. She knew he'd do anything to protect his family.

This time however, he was not going to back down, and he started pushing against her, started pushing her out of his head. It was a lot harder then he thought, but all the anger he felt towards her swelled up inside of him. Anger for taking his Dad away from him and his brothers a few years ago, anger for putting a bug in him, anger for taking Anne and Lexi, anger for kidnapping him and experimenting on him. He let it consume him, and threw it all at her.

As he continued to shove Karen out of his head, the blurry faces of his brothers and Weaver faded away, and another image took its place.

 _He was standing on pavement in front of a short metal fence, looking out towards a body of water. Right in the center, was a small island, where a large statue stood. It was a woman, with a crown on her head, holding a torch up high. The Statue of Liberty._

The scene suddenly disappeared, and the sight of Weaver and Ben came back. Hal could've sworn he heard Karen give a short yell, before she withdrew from his head. She was gone.

Hal let his body go limp on the ground. Every muscle hurt, though his head was the worst. He could feel his brain pounding against his skull.

"Hal? Are you alright?" He heard Matt ask.

"You could've warned me how much it hurts when aliens do that, Ben." Hal croaked, looking up at his brother. Ben smiled and chuckled.

"Sorry." Ben replied, looking down at Hal's once again, brown eyes. He knew that Hal was successful in pushing Karen out once he saw the blue glow disappear, and his brother stopped moving. Hal then tried to sit up, but Weaver and Ben pushed him back down.

"Just stay still. Everything's okay." Weaver told him. Hal didn't have the strength to argue.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom continued firing at the oncoming skitters. It seemed as though there was no end to them, but he kept pushing forward, trying to get close enough to Karen. When Deni came to him and told him that she had found out Hal was here, he knew this was probably the best chance he'd get to finish her, but with the constant line of attacking skitters, he couldn't get close.

Not long after Deni told Tom what happened, he watched Karen turn to face the city, and saw something glowing on her neck, right where her spine was. As he kept shooting at the skitters, he turned his gaze to the Overlord every chance he got.

Then, he saw Karen raise her hands to her head, as though she was in pain. Then, she bent down like she didn't have the strength to stand. Just as she did that, the glow from her back disappeared.

Once the glow was gone, Karen turned and looked right into Tom's eyes with pure hatred. The Mechs that were flanking the human alien started towards them. Pope threw his grenades at them while Tom, Maggie, and Deni continued shooting the skitters.

The Mechs were quickly destroyed, and the soldiers finally finished off the rest of their attackers. Tom looked back to where Karen was standing, only to see the street empty. Karen was gone.

"What the h*ll is going on?" Pope asked, completely confused as to why Karen just stopped her attack and fled.

"I have no clue." Tom answered, just as puzzled as the criminal.


	14. Nothing That I Wouldn't Do

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

Hal, sitting on the observation table had his head turned to Anne, who was currently looking into his eyes. Tom and Weaver stood behind the doctor, watching her exam him. Ben was sitting in the chair by one end of the table, while Matt stood beside him. Maggie stood on the other side of the table, right by Hal.

"Well, they're not glowing now. They'll probably only do that when you're connecting to an Espheni." Anne concluded, stepping away from Hal.

"But, he's connected with the skitters before and his eyes never glowed." Matt pointed out.

"Well, he's never connected that strongly before to anyone with spikes or Espheni DNA." Anne responded.

"What I don't understand, is why Karen just gave up." Maggie said.

"Hal beat her. The rebel skitter said that he'd probably be stronger than her, now he just proved it. She couldn't control him, and she knew that she couldn't get very far, not with all of our new soldiers and new Volm weapons." Ben answered.

"But that's another thing. Karen wouldn't make Hal stronger than her. Not on purpose anyways. So how did that happen?" Weaver questioned.

"Can you guys stop talking about me as if I'm not in the room?" Hal asked, completely irritated by the way everyone was acting. His throbbing headache didn't help either.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Hal. He had his elbow on his leg, and was resting his forehead in his hand. He looked exhausted, and considering everything that happened only an hour ago, no one blamed him.

"Sorry." Weaver apologized.

"Weaver does raise a good point Hal. Karen wouldn't make you stronger than she is, wouldn't let you be able to push against her control the way you did. Do you have any idea what happened?" Tom asked. Hal's only answer was the shaking of his head.

"Think hard. Was there something that they were doing that seemed off to you during those five months?" Tom pushed. Hal had been back for almost six weeks, and he still knew next to nothing about what happened to his son.

"Dad, everything they did seemed off to me." Hal answered, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

"Is there anything that you saw, while you were taken there, or escaping, that looked different? Anything at all?" Weaver asked.

Hal tried his hardest to remember what he could, despite the fact hat he had spent the last six weeks trying to forget. He hadn't been very successful at that though. Every time he closed his eyes, the memories played over in his mind on a constant loop, and they were so vivid, it was like he was completely reliving them.

So, forcing himself to remember was something Hal really didn't want to do. Not to mention he was still trying to figure out what really happened, and what was just hallucinations from the drugs Karen kept injecting him with. Hal tried to focus, but all he could think about was how Karen tried to control him, and how his eyes apparently glowed blue, like Ben's spikes, and that's when Hal remembered.

"There was something. It was when the Volm were attacking the outpost, when I was able to get free. There was something in the room that I didn't see until I was heading to the door." Hal revealed.

"I don't know what it was. All I could see was that it was glowing, very brightly. I couldn't even tell what it was, it was so bright. It was glowing blue, the same blue that Ben and Deni's spikes glow." Hal told them.

"Well, what happened then?" Tom asked.

"I wanted to see what it was, so I walked towards it. But the closer I go, the harder it was to look at it. It was worse than staring straight at the sun." Hal remembered, then went on, "When I was only a few feet away, I heard a whistling noise, and the place exploded. Next thing I remember, I was running through the woods." Hal explained, then let out a small groan as his headache started turning into a full-blown migraine.

"Are you alright?" Maggie questioned, moving closer to the young man.

"My head is killing me." Hal answered.

"Yeah, connecting with an Overlord, especially when you're fighting, causes quite the headache. It's normal." Ben informed his brother, rubbing his own temples while his head throbbed.

Anne looked at the two older brothers and said, "I'll get you two some ibuprofen. Then I want you both to get some sleep. It's late and you guys had a long day." Hal and Ben both looked like they wanted to argue, but Tom cut in.

"Boys, listen to Anne. The two of you look like you're going to pass out any minute, and doing that on a bed is more comfortable than a floor. We can talk about this tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Hal and Ben nodded. Anne gave them the painkillers, and they left the room, heading for their separate bedrooms with Maggie and Matt. Anne, Tom, and Weaver were left alone.

"So, what do you think Hal saw?" Weaver asked Tom.

"It sounds kind of like a power source of some kind. It's just, why would the Espheni have something life that? We know that the Mechs and Beamers need fuel to function. If they possess a power source, why wouldn't they use it to power their technology, instead of stealing ours?" Tom wondered.

"Sounds like something we need to talk to Cochise and Kadar about." Weaver said, and Tom nodded in agreement.

"At least there is one less thing to worry about." Anne told the men, who turned to look at her in confusion.

"Hal is stronger than an Overlord. I don't think we need to worry about him being controlled and used as a spy." Anne explained. Weaver turned back to Tom.

"She's got a point. And given how strong Hal is, and his ability to get into the skitters heads so easily, he's probably the best chance we have at destroying Karen." The Colonel told the President.

"I know, but we don't have any idea where Karen is, and I don't want her anywhere near Hal, or any of my kids." Tom replied.

"And I understand that, but I don't think you have a choice in that. He's our best shot Tom, like it or not. I think he should be back in the fight, especially when we do finally fight Karen. But, you're in charge, it's your call." Tom didn't have an answer to that, not yet anyways.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal and Maggie made their way to their bedroom in silence. Maggie was squeezing Hal's hand so tight that it hurt, but he didn't care. It was a nice distraction from his pounding head.

Once they got to the door to their room, they went inside and Hal sat down on the bed as Maggie let go of his hand. He kicked off his boots and was about to lie down on the mattress when he noticed that Maggie was standing by the foot of the bed staring at the floor.

"You okay?" Hal asked. Maggie nodded, but didn't look at him. Pushing himself back to his feet, he walked over to her, wrapped his hands around her arms gently, and turned her to face him.

"What's wrong?" Hal wanted to know. While her body was turned to him, she kept her eyes on the carpet.

"Nothing." Maggie finally answered, her voice quiet. Hal placed two of his fingers under her chin, and moved her head up so he could look at her.

"Maggie, tell me." Maggie didn't say anything, but did pull away from him and walked to the corner of the room. Hal was about to follow her, when she finally spoke.

"Hal, I know that I can't even begin to imagine what you went through during those five months, but you have no idea what it was like here either. For your Dad, your brothers, for me. For all we knew, you could've been dead." Hal could tell Maggie was trying to keep her voice steady, but she was failing. Then, Maggie turned around to face him, anger, frustration, and fear in her eyes.

"Then you come back, and everything seems good, except you won't tell anyone what happened, and I get that. But then, we find out what she did to you, that she's trying to take you away again, and you are more than willing to throw yourself into danger. To risk your life without even thinking about how it effects others." Maggie told him. Hal moved to stand in front of her and placed one hand on her shoulder, another on her cheek.

"I never said it back." Maggie said miserably.

"Never said what?" Hal asked, his voice low.

"You asked me if I knew you loved me. But I didn't say it back." Maggie explained, as a tear started running down her cheek.

"Maggie."

"I was terrified that I wasn't going to see you again, that you didn't know that I do, I do love you." Maggie revealed. Hal pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers. Maggie instantly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as he slipped his arms around her waist.

"I know." Hal said, as he pulled back for air. Lowering his forehead to hers he repeated, "I know."

"I don't want to lose you." Maggie whispered, her tears falling more freely.

"As long as I'm breathing, I will come back to you. No matter what, I will come back." Hal responded. Maggie pulled his head back down so his lips met hers. Everything else seemed to disappear for her. The man she loved was here, with her. And that was all she really needed.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Goodnight Mommy." Lexi whispered as Anne pulled the blankets over her.

"Goodnight sweetie." Anne said, and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead. Tom stood watching from the doorway with a smile on his face as Anne tucked their daughter in, remembering when his boys were that age. Once Anne finished, she stood up and made her way to the door while Tom moved over to his daughter.

"Daddy, can you read me a story?" Lexi asked.

"Your Mom already did, and it's way past your bedtime honey." Tom answered her as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

"But I'm not sleepy." Lexi protested, just as she let out a yawn.

"Sure you aren't. I'll try to be back earlier tomorrow night and read you a story then, alright?" Tom offered his only daughter.

"Okay." Lexi responded as her tired eyelids closed. Tom bent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead just like the girl's mother did moments before.

"I love you." Tom whispered.

"Love you too Daddy." Lexi replied sleepily.

Tom stood up and headed to the door where Anne was waiting. Together, they left the room and entered their bedroom. After Anne and Lexi got to back to Charleston, Tom had a door put in between the two bedrooms so Lexi would still be close to her parents, yet they would have their privacy.

"So, how are you doing?" Anne asked as she sat down on the bed. Tom took off his coat and put it on the couch in the room.

"Confused as to what's all going on, worried about all the things that could happen. I don't want Hal anywhere near the aliens, not if he's becoming this much of a target." Tom answered.

"We can't control everything Tom. And to be honest, I actually agree with Weaver." Anne told him. Tom looked over at her.

"If it was anyone else's kid, I would too. But, he's been through too much. I don't want to put him in any more danger. If any thing happened to him, I don't think I could handle it. I know I couldn't handle it." Tom revealed, sitting down beside the doctor.

"Some things are out of our hands, and this one of those things. I think you should let Hal make his own decision and trust that he'll make the right one. And trust he'll be strong enough to see it through. The only other thing you can do is be there beside him, and help him when he needs it." Anne told him.

"I'll think about it." Was the only response Tom gave.

As the couple got into their bed, Tom considered her words. He knew she was right, but he also knew what Hal would choose if the father let him decide, and Tom hated it. The only thing he wanted was for this war to end, so his children could live in peace, live the life they were supposed to live. Never did he think that in order to gain that desire, he would have to put his children in such danger.


	15. Do What You Have to Do

**Disclaimer** \- Still own nothing. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

The next morning, Weaver found Tom in his office. It looked as though he had been there for awhile. Maps were laying on the desk that he seemed to be examining.

"What are you doing?" Weaver asked as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Trying to figure out where Karen is. According to Cochise, the outpost where they found Hal was in New Jersey, but she obviously wasn't there when they attacked, so I doubt that was her new permanent base. It was probably some random spot she hid him so that if we found her, we wouldn't find him." Tom explained.

"You're planning to attack her." The Colonel realized.

"Absolutely. She's been nothing but a menace, to Charleston, the 2nd Mass, and to my kids. It's time we take her out, for good this time." Tom informed him.

"And Hal? Are you planning on telling him about this, and letting him come along?" Weaver inquired.

"I don't know yet. Karen's made it very clear that she's targeting him. Bringing him along is just going to put him in more danger, and that is the last thing he needs. We still don't know what all she did, why she did it, or what could happen if they meet face to face. I don't want to risk what all could happen." Tom explained.

"Before you make a decision though, do you remember back before we got to Charleston? Back when Jimmy died?" Weaver asked. Tom looked up in confusion.

"Yeah." Tom answered.

"Do you remember what you told me? You said 'We can't protect them anymore. All we can do is prepare them for the world that's in front of them and it's a world where kids have to grow up too fast. And there's going to be consequences, and there's going to be casualties.'"

"I know, protecting your kids is your first instinct Tom, it always has been. But you can't. Hal's not a kid anymore. He's a man, capable of making his own decisions. And you know what he'll choose. He will do whatever it takes to stop Karen, and anything that threatens the people he cares about, just like a man should." Weaver finished his speech.

Tom looked down at his desk, remembering how he made that speech about Ben and Jimmy. At that point in time, he was trying to comfort and assure Weaver about what they were doing by letting them fight. Now, here was Weaver doing the exact same thing, but not with Matt like one would normally think, but with Hal.

"I know, I know. I just, hate that he's in this position." Tom replied.

"But he is. So, what are you going to do?" Weaver asked.

"It's his choice. If he wants to come, if he wants to get back into it, then I'll respect that, but, that doesn't mean he's going alone." Weaver smirked at his friend's answer.

"Wouldn't expect anything less."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Maggie slowly opened her eyes. She was lying in the bed, tucked into Hal's side, her head on his bare chest, his arms wrapped around her. Pushing herself up on her elbow, Maggie looked down at his face. Hal looked completely peaceful, and she smiled. As far as she could tell, he didn't have any nightmares last night. Finally.

She brought her free hand and laid it on the man's cheek, cupping his face. As she started rubbing his cheek with her thumb, Hal's deep brown eyes opened, and immediately locked on her. Then he smiled.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Hey. Did you sleep okay?" Maggie asked, a smile coming on her face when Hal nodded.

"You?" Hal wondered, the hand that was on her back started traveling up and down her spine.

"I can't remember the last time I slept that great." Maggie told him, then lowered her lips to his in a kiss, which he returned.

The moment was interrupted when there was a knock on the door. Hal quickly threw his pants on and went to the door while Maggie brought the blankets up to her neck. As Hal opened the door, he found Weaver on the other side.

"Your Dad wants to talk to you. He's in his office with Kadar." The Colonel informed him.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Hal replied, and shut the door as Weaver headed back down the hallway.

"Guess it's time to get back to work." Hal stated as he finished getting dressed.

"I guess so." Maggie agreed and got dressed herself.

"How long are you on guard duty today?" Hal asked, remembering that Maggie was supposed to be on the perimeter duty with Tector and Anthony. Due to the increasing number of attacks, especially the one last night, his Dad and Weaver had put more soldiers on the perimeter, and increased the number of patrols they set out.

"Until after supper most likely." Maggie answered, putting on her jacket. As she started putting on her gloves, Hal went over to her and grabbed her hands.

"Are you okay?" Hal wondered, remembering what she said last night, and how she cried.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Maggie assured him, though he could tell she was forcing it. He couldn't remember ever seeing her cry before, and he knew she was probably a little embarrassed about it. The first thing he learned about the woman in front of him, was that she hated being vulnerable.

"Everything I said last night, I meant every word, you know that right?" Hal asked.

"I know. I meant it too." Maggie told him. Hal smiled and they shared another kiss before they left the room and went their separate ways.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal was about to knock on the door to his Dad's office, but Tom was already calling out, "Come in Hal."

Sometimes, it was nice that the doors were glass, though they weren't clear which still allowed people their privacy.

Hal entered the room to find his Dad sitting in his chair behind the desk, while Kadar sat in one of the two chairs in front of the table.

"Hal, sit down. I want you tell Kadar what you told me last night." Tom told him. Hal sat down in the empty chair and started talking.

As Hal explained what he remembered about what he saw to Dr. Kadar, the man stared silently, thinking about all the possibilities the glowing object could be. When the young soldier finished explaining, the doctor thought for a moment before he spoke.

"It's possible it could be a power source. But it could've been something else too. What I don't understand is, if it was that bright, why didn't you notice it before?" Kadar inquired.

"The lights in the room were on, and from what I remember, it wasn't glowing before." Hal answered.

"Well, if it wasn't until the power got knocked out before it 'turned on' it might have been a generator of some kind. Honestly, it could be a number of things. Espheni technology is something we still don't understand. The Volm are probably better suited to ask." Kadar replied.

"Thanks Kadar." Tom replied. The scientist nodded and left the room.

"So, dead end?" Hal asked for confirmation.

"No, not necessarily. We can talk to Cochise when he gets here tomorrow." Tom responded, standing up and coming around the desk to stand in front of the desk. Leaning against it, he asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. The headache finally let up." Hal told him.

"Good, but how are you _doing_?" Tom repeated, putting more emphasis on the question. Hal realized what his Dad was really asking and wasn't sure how to respond.

"I'm fine. Be doing a lot better if I didn't have to worry about Karen, but can't really do much about that at the moment." Hal said, purposely leaving out his exact emotions. He still wasn't sure what he was feeling about everything himself and didn't want to burden his Dad with that. He had enough on his plate.

"Don't worry Hal. The minute we find out where she is, we'll get her. Karen's not going to get away with this." Tom assured him. His voice left no room for argument.

"New York. She's in New York City. I saw the Statue of Liberty when I was pushing her out of my head." Hal revealed. Tom stood up straight from where he was leaning against the edge of the desk.

"Are you sure Hal?" The President asked.

"Positive."

"Then when Cochise gets here tomorrow, we'll see what e can find out. And if you're right, then we'll start planning an attack." Tom told him.

"I want to go with you, when you attack." Hal let his father know, and Tom instantly started to protest.

"Hal, it's too risky for you."

"Maybe, but you and I both know I can get close to her. If Karen's really coming after me, then she'll let me get close. And because of what happened last night, we know I can stop her if she tries to control me again." Hal explained.

"What if it's a trap? What if she planted that image in your head?" Tom argued, his voice getting louder.

"Then there's no way I'm letting you or anyone else risk your lives like that while I'm safe in Charleston." Hal replied.

Tom didn't say anything. Instead, he stared at his eldest, not even bothering to hide his frustration. Hal looked up at Tom, and stared back, completely determined to win this argument. After a few minutes, Tom realized Hal was not going to back down, and Weaver's words from last night and from this morning came back to his mind, as did Anne's from the night before. Reluctantly, Tom looked away and sighed.

"I know, I know you won't. I swear you are just as stubborn as your mother." Tom said.

"Is that a good thing?" Hal asked cautiously, not wanting to antagonize the older man.

"For you, yes. I barely ever won a fight with her." Tom remembered fondly, a small smile coming onto his face, then continued.

"I know I've been a bit, overprotective, of you since you got back. And if it was up to me, you wouldn't be in this situation at all. But Hal, you have no idea how terrified I was while you were gone."

"I get that, but Dad, you can't just lock me in a safe room for the rest of my life."

"I want to, wrong or not, I truly want to. All I can think about, is if I didn't tell you about the deal Karen offered, you wouldn't even be in this mess. But you're right, you have the best chance of taking Karen down, and I have to let you." Tom answered, his eyes becoming wet.

Hal stood up from the chair and took a step towards his Dad, getting close enough for Tom to wrap him in his embrace, which Hal immediately returned. He never even thought about how guilty his Dad must've been feeling. When he told Anne to tell his Dad that it wasn't his fault, he hoped that his Dad would believe it. He was wrong.

"It wasn't your fault. It was my choice." Hal told him.

"If it was up to me, you would never have been in that situation, or this one." Tom replied. Hal slowly pulled away and looked his father straight in the eyes.

"It's not up to you. Please, let me help." Hal pleaded. Tom dropped his head to stare at the floor for a moment, then looked back up at his son.

"Alright."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Matt found Hal on the roof. Usually that was a place Ben would've been, but after Maggie had taken him up there weeks ago, it became Hal's favorite spot. A place where he could be alone, but not closed in.

"Hey buddy." Hal said as he saw his youngest brother come out the doorway.

"Hey. What are you doing out here?" Matt wondered as he sat down beside Hal, his back against the cement railing.

"Just thinking." Hal answered.

"About what?"

"Just stuff. Don't worry about it." Matt looked at his brother. He was looking a lot better than he had when they first got him back. He looked, almost normal, but there was something about his eyes. There were the faint smudges under his eyes, showing how he was still having some trouble sleeping though they seemed lighter this time, but that wasn't it. Hal simply looked like, he had just seen too much, and it was weighing him down. He looked too old for his actual age.

"So, Dad said you found out where Karen is. And that he's letting you go with them when they go." Matt said.

"Yup." Hal responded.

"You sound happy about that." Matt commented.

"I'm just tired of standing on the sidelines. And, I feel bad that Karen is coming after me, but you guys keep trying to protect me."

"What would you do if it was me? Or Ben? Or Maggie?" Matt asked. Hal's only answer was a sigh, he knew what his brother was getting at. If it had been any of them, he'd do the same thing.

"Besides, odds are, Dad isn't going to let you go alone on that mission. You should've seen him when you were gone. It was worse than when Ben was missing." Matt revealed.

"Really?" Hal questioned.

"Yeah. Dad felt bad that he told you about the trade Karen wanted to make, and it was different than when Ben was taken. We knew he was most likely harnessed, but you were targeted, and we had no idea why. He was running himself into the ground, we all were." Hal turned to look at Matt.

"I'm back, aren't I? And I'm okay." Hal told him,

"Yeah, you were just experimented on and are still being targeted." Matt's voice became very sharp.

"Matt, when we end this war, and we will, I'll be fine. What she did to me, won't affect me once the aliens are gone." Hal said.

"That you know of."

"Where is this negative attitude coming from? What's wrong Matt?" Hal asked, turning his body to face his youngest brother.

"Nothing, I just. I just, don't want you to disappear again." Matt answered.

"Don't worry. There's no way that's going to happen again." Hal promised, though he knew he might not be able to keep it. He hoped that Matt just needed to hear it, needed to be comforted, but the youngest Mason son looked up at him completely poker faced.

"You can't promise that." Hal sighed, and shook his head.

"No, I can't. But I promise, I'll try my hardest to stay safe, and come back." Hal told him. Matt nodded, and Hal saw his brother's fear in his eyes, though his face remained stoic. He wrapped his arms around his youngest brother and pulled him close. Matt didn't respond, and Hal was about to pull away, when he felt Matt's smaller arms came around him. They didn't say anything, Hal just held his little brother, wishing he could take away his fear, but knew he couldn't.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Cochise and his Volm comrades arrived the next day, in the afternoon. Within two days, the Volm alien was able to confirm that Karen was indeed in New York City, and they started a plan of attack.

Not even a full week later, Hal found himself in a Volm transport ship with his Dad, his brothers, Maggie, Weaver, Anthony and Tector. Maggie, who was sitting beside him, looked over at his him, noticing how tense he was. Hal didn't look at her until he felt her grab his hand.

"You ready for this?" Maggie questioned.

"I'm more than ready for this." Hal assured her, and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"We are here." The Volm flying the ship told them, and Hal gripped his semi automatic tightly.


	16. Through the Fire

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing, and I don't live in America, nor have I been to New York, so, I'm sorry if I get some of this wrong.

 **Enjoy!**

As the ship landed on a street in Manhattan, the sound of gunfire was heard from outside, though it was not at them. It was the Mechs and skitters attacking the Berserkers in the jeeps, who were doing their job of keeping the attention off the oncoming Volm spaceship and the boat that was currently heading into the bay that was carrying the weapon to destroy the Espheni tower that had been built over the city.

Once the spaceship was on the ground, the ramp opened, and everyone climbed out. Hal held his gun tightly, as did everyone else. Maggie and Ben stayed by his side. His Dad was in the front with Weaver and Tector while Matt hung back with Anthony There was no sign of anyone around.

When all the fighters were off the spacecraft, the ramp closed, and the ship took off again.

"Well, is she here?" Ben asked Hal. They knew there that the best way to get into the tower undetected was to have another group distracting the Mechs and skitters. The risk of doing that however, was Karen or any other Overlord would escape during that time.

He and Ben had been working on fine tuning his ability to connect to the skitters. Even Deni had helped out every now and then. Now, it was time to see if he could find Karen. Closing his eyes in concentration, he lowered his guard slightly, allowing himself to search for the human Overlord.

Hal could feel Ben beside him. He could also feel Deni, and several skitters fighting over three miles away to the south, but 15 blocks to the north, then 3 blocks west, he felt more skitters, and Karen. They were making their way towards something.

"Yeah. That way," Hal pointed his gun down the street they needed to take, "but they're moving. They're heading towards to bridge."

"Probably heading back to the tower where their spaceship is. We need to cut them off. Ben, Hal, you take that road, get behind them. We'll try to get them from the left." Tom ordered. Hal and Ben nodded and took off down the street.

"You sure it's a good idea putting them together? If something happens to them, we'll have no idea." Weaver questioned as the rest of the group continued down the street they were on.

"And if Karen tries to get to Hal, or Ben? They're stronger together." Tom assured him, though was having doubts about himself. Ignoring it, they started running down the street.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Wish we could've landed closer. They could already be crossing the bridge by the time we catch up to them." Ben said, staying by his older brother's side, gun firmly in his grip.

"Then they would've realized that Pope and his gang were just decoys and will target us. Maybe we'll get lucky and Cochise can blow the bridge before they get there." Hal suggested, looking over down the alleys and streets, making sure that no skitters or Mechs creeped up on them.

"But, then the beamers would start attacking them, and possibly destroy the boat that has the weapon on it, keeping the tower intact." Ben pointed out.

"Guess we'll just have to beat them to the bridge then." Hal stated. Once they got past the 15 blocks, they looked down the street, and saw three mega Mechs, at least ten skitters, and one human, walking away, their backs to the brothers. They were roughly 7 blocks ahead.

"Sneak up behind them, and wait until Dad and the others attack first?" Ben wondered.

"Yeah, let's do that." Hal agreed, knowing there was no way they could take them all out by themselves. And if the aliens knew they were being followed, they would just move faster, making it harder for the rest of the fighters to cut them off.

Keeping to the side of the road and their backs to the walls of the buildings, they followed their targets. The cars parked along the sidewalk giving them cover, and they kept walking at a brisk pace, catching up to them, yet staying behind until it was time.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

It didn't take long for Tom, Weaver, Matt, Maggie, Tector, and Anthony to find them. They went to pass the one alley when they saw Karen, the three Mechs, and small band of skitters making their way towards the bridge, not even 5 blocks from where they were.

"You think Ben and Hal are already behind them?" Maggie asked Tom.

"They should be. But if they aren't, doesn't matter. The other bridges are this way. They'll either have to get past us or have a ship come pick them up. Hal and Ben will join us soon enough if they aren't already in position." Tom explained, then looked over at Tector.

"Tector, let's get their attention." Tom ordered the sniper, who smiled.

"With pleasure." Tector lifted his rifle, and shot the leading skitter right through the skull, killing it instantly.

Before the mega Mechs had the chance to turn and start firing at them, Anthony through a grenade that had an additional pack of C4 taped on it, at the robots, taking two of them out. Then, the soldiers rushed in before the smoke had a chance to clear. Tom was not willing to let Karen slip away this time.

Firing has they went, the skitters started falling to the ground, and Tom and the group managed to get in front of Karen and her remaining skitters and Mech. Karen looked as though she was about to turn around, when Ben and Hal appeared from behind a truck, firing at her.

Karen took off to the other side, away from the 2nd Mass fighters and the bridge, leaving the mega Mech and remaining skitters to finish them off. Hal looked over to where the Overlord was making her escape, and started chasing her.

"Hal!" Maggie called out when she saw what he was doing. Ben looked over his shoulder down the street where Hal was chasing after Karen. After shooting the skitter in front of him, he took off after his brother.

As the group destroyed the Mech, and killed the last skitter, they were about to follow Hal and Ben, when a noise at the bridge caught their attention. Tom turned his head towards it, and saw an army of skitters coming towards them, as well as a few Mechs.

"Guess we lost the element of surprise." Weaver realized. Tom nodded, and turned his attention to the aliens, as did everyone else. He hoped that Hal and Ben would be able to take care of Karen by themselves.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal finally cornered Karen when she ended up reaching a dead end in the street. She turned, looking like she was about to find another way out, when she saw that he had followed her. She smiled, as though she was actually happy to see him.

"Hello Hal. I'm glad you're okay. I was worried that you had been hurt in the attack the Volm launched." Karen said. Hal's only response was to raise his gun and point it at her head.

"Really Hal? You actually want to kill me?" Karen wondered, sounding doubtful.

"I want to know what you did to me, and why." Hal told her, fingering the trigger.

"You know what I did, or at least, what I started to do. Hal, there's still so much you don't know, so much you don't understand. Come back with me, and I'll show you." Karen offered.

"Never." Hal spat and fired. Karen seemed to be expecting it, and she ducked out of the way. Another shot rang out, but it wasn't Hal who fired. He looked behind him and saw Ben, his own gun raised.

"Well, well, well. This is a little unexpected, and unfair. Why don't we even out the playing field a little, shall we?" Karen suggested. She raised her hand, and Hal's gun flew from his hand and landed 20 feet away. Before either of the brothers could respond, Karen moved her hand towards Ben, and his own gun flew through the air and landed by Hal's.

Hal and Ben looked at each other, then looked back at Karen, all of them unsure as what to do. For a moment, none of them moved, then Ben charged at the woman. Karen again raised her hand and Ben suddenly went flying. His body slammed against a streetlight and he fell on his face.

While her focus was on the younger Mason, Hal got close enough to grab her, and he pushed her to the ground. Though momentarily stunned, Karen grabbed his arms and pulled him down with her. Rolling over so that she was on top of Hal, he lifted his leg and kneed her in the stomach, pushing her away from him.

As Hal started to get up, he felt Karen attack his mind, pushing herself inside. But she wasn't trying to take control of him. He didn't know what she was trying to do, until the memories started to overwhelm.

 _He was back on the table, the ropes digging into his wrists painfully. Blood running through his fingers._

 _Karen sticking another needle into his neck, the feeling of fire flooding through his veins. The faces above him changing from skitters to nurses to Anne, back to skitters. Karen and Anne's voices in his ears saying, "Trust me," over and over again._

 _Hal fighting against his restraints, trying to pull away from the needles and scalpel. A skitter putting his clawed hand on his chest and pushing him against the table hard, the claws cutting into his skin._

The memories continued playing, everything that happened during those five months of h*ll flashed before his eyes. He didn't know why Karen was forcing it, or how to stop it. Then suddenly, Ben's voice echoed in his mind, worried, and horrified.

 _Hal?_

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom, Maggie, Weaver, Matt, Anthony and Tector kept firing at the oncoming aliens, but there seemed to be no end to them. Not to mention, Mechs were slowly making their way across the bridge as well.

"Anybody got any grenades to take that bridge out?" Tom yelled over the gunfire. In response, Anthony pulled out his last two bombs and threw them on to the bridge, both going off.

While the explosions took out several skitters and a few Mechs, besides a deep pit in the pavement, the bridge remained intact, and the aliens kept advancing. Continuing to shoot and kill the aliens, Tom soon became aware that they were all running out of ammo. Then, he spotted the ship coming into the bay.

Less than a minute later, a shot was fired and the tower that stood in Queens, was destroyed. The skitters and Mechs stopped for a moment, as though they weren't sure what to do. It was only for a few seconds though, then they continued advancing.

They didn't get that far, because the Volm spaceship that had taken them here flew overhead, and fired down at the bridge, causing it to collapse. The aliens that were still on the same side as 2nd Mass's soldiers, kept coming at them, but they were limited though. They might actually pull this off.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

When Ben looked up from the pavement, he saw Hal and Karen fighting on the ground, and watched as he kicked her off himself. It looked like Hal was about to get up, when Ben saw his eyes starting to glow blue again.

Turning his head to Karen, he saw her spin glowing too, and she was already standing up. Hal on the other hand, and turned over on to his side, hands clutching his head. Ben opened up his mind and connected with Hal, hoping that he could help force Karen out, but what he saw and felt was not what he was expecting as his spikes lit up.

Ben expected to feel Karen trying to force his brother to do something, to hear her voice trying to persuade him to go with her, trying to bribe him in some way, but that's not what was happening at all. Instead, images started flooding his head.

 _He was suddenly lying on a cold, metal, table. Ropes were wrapped around his wrists, holding him down. They were cutting into his skin, blood flowing through his fingers._

 _Karen stood over him, needle in hand and stuck it into his neck. A burning pain like fire flooded into his veins. Karen's and the skitters faces looking down at him changed from their own to nurses and to Anne's. Her voice and Karen's mixed together, repeating the words, "Trust me," constantly._

 _Then he was fighting against the ropes keeping him trapped on the tables, despite the pain it caused in his wrists. A harnessed boy was standing above him with a scalpel and Karen was on his other side with a needle. He had to get away._

As the images flashed through his mind, Ben realized what it was. These were Hal's memories. This is what he went through those five months he was gone, and Ben was horrified.

 _Hal?_ Ben tried reaching his big brother through his mind, trying to bring him back to reality. He could feel his brother acknowledge his presence, but Hal couldn't focus. He was too lost in the memories Karen was forcing him to relive. He was completely incapacitated.

So, Ben pushed himself back to his feet, despite the painful throb in his ribs from when he hit the street light, and charged at Karen. She turned when she heard him coming, but he was too close for her to do anything about it. He threw a punch but she dodged out of the way, and reached for his arm. He grabbed that same arms in response, using his free hand to try and land another punch but she managed to grab that one as well.

They ended up pushing against each other, trying to knock the other one down. Ben, with his added strength from his spikes, and Karen, with her added strength from her harness and alien DNA. They seemed to be evenly matched, but then Karen twisted his arm and shoved him away from her. Before he could respond to the attack, she lifted her hand, and again he went flying, this time into an abandoned car, his back smashing the windshield before he rolled off the hood and back onto the road.

Hal watched his little brother and ex-girlfriend fight from his spot on the pavement. The minute he felt Ben in his head, he was gone and not a few seconds later, Karen was gone too. He looked up and saw that his brother had taken advantage of the human Overlord's concentration on him and attacked her.

Once he saw Karen throw Ben against the car, that was it. All the anger and rage Hal felt towards the human alien came back in full force, and he pushed himself to his feet. He came up behind Karen and wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her against him tightly. He could hear her gasping for air as he choked her. Karen wouldn't let him kill her though. He felt her hand wrap around his wrist and she actually flipped him over her head.

Unfortunately, she still had a grip on his right wrist, and it snapped as he landed flat on his back on the paved road. Hal screamed as he both heard and felt the bone break. Karen released her grip and he brought his arm close to his chest, cradling it with his other hand.

"Oh Hal. Why do you have to make everything so difficult?" Karen asked, walking towards him.

"Get. Away. From him." Ben growled, as he moved to his hands and knees, blood running down his back and arms from where the glass had cut him. Karen turned and looked at him, half annoyed, half impressed that he was still getting back up, and she started walking towards the former harnessed boy.

"I have to say Ben, you've changed a lot since last time I saw you. You're not the innocent, gullible boy that used to be such a threat. But you know you're no match for me. You're not strong enough to fight me, you're too we-" Two gunshots rang out, cutting Karen off. A small gasp escaped her lips, and she slowly turned her head.

Hal sat against an SUV, his semi-automatic in his hand, pointed at her. When she flipped him onto his back, she didn't realize that he was only a few feet away from where she had used her telekinesis to drop the brothers' guns. While she had her back turned to him, he had crawled over and grabbed his rifle, and shot her twice in the back.

Karen fell to her knees, as Hal stood up, holding his gun up in case she tried anything. Hal moved closer to human Overlord while she fell onto her back. Once he was standing beside her, he crouched down, and opened his mind, connecting to hers, letting her see what he was thinking of.

He showed her how he remembered waking up on the ground after the Mech stunned them, seeing her lying down only two feet away. Watching as a bunch of harnessed kids grabbed her and started dragging her away from him. Standing up to try and stop them, calling out for Ben to let her go. Falling to the ground because he was so weak and sore.

Closing the connection as the memory ended, Hal whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Opening his eyes, Hal saw Karen staring at him, her face full of pain and, remorse? Hal couldn't really tell. But he stood back up, and started making his way to his little brother, wanting to make sure he was okay.

"Hal?" Hal stopped when he heard Karen call out his name, and looked back at the girl who used to mean so much to him. Her assault in his mind was so strong and hit so fast, that he didn't see it coming. Random and confusing pictures ran through his mind, and everything turned black. He didn't feel himself fall to the ground, or hear Ben yell his name.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben watched as Karen fell to the ground. He looked over at his brother, and saw that he gotten to the guns, and was the one who shot Karen. Hal was now walking over to her, and got down beside her. He could see Hal's eyes glow blue, and was wondering what he was doing, but then the glow was gone and he saw Hal's lips move. Using his hearing, he heard Hal whisper, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Considering everything that happened over the last two years, Ben had forgotten that Hal actually did care about Karen at one point. He forgot how much his older brother wanted to save her. After she led the attack on the hospital to get her Overlord master back, before the 2nd Mass even got to Charleston, Ben, and everyone else lost any hope of saving the real Karen.

Now here he was, watching his brother finally put an end to the nightmare that they had all been trapped in for two years, yet all his brother could say was that he was sorry, and a sudden feeling of sympathy crashed on Ben's chest. That feeling left though when he watched Hal collapse to the ground after taking a few steps away from Karen.

"Hal!" Ben yelled, crawling to his brother on his hands and knees. Hal laid on the pavement, his entire body shaking. Blood was starting to run down his nose and his ears. When Ben reached his brother, he turned him so that Hal's back was halfway on his lap, and slipped his arm under the young man's shoulders, but he never stopped shaking.

It was at that point he realized Hal's gun was still in his hand. Pulling it out of his big brother's grip, he pointed it at Karen, ready to shoot her again for whatever she was doing to Hal, but stopped when he saw her lifeless, unblinking eyes, staring at nothing. She was dead.

Looking down at Hal, Ben saw that he had finally stopped shaking, but didn't wake up. Ben gently shook his shoulder. When that didn't work, he lifted his hand that wasn't under Hal's shoulders, and lightly tapped his cheek. Slowly, Hal opened his eyes.

"Hey." Hal whispered, and Ben almost laughed with relief, then Hal asked, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, you okay? It was like you were having a seizure or something." Ben wondered.

"Head hurts, so does my wrist, but I'm okay." Hal said, then moved to sit up only to fall back down.

"Don't move, just stay still. Dad and the others will find us soon, and we'll get you back to Charleston." Ben told him.

"I'm fine Ben, but Anne really should examine you." Hal responded.

"I told you I'm okay. It's just a few cuts in bruises that will heal soon. My spikes heal me faster, remember? Besides, I'm not the one who just had a seizure." Ben pointed out, but Hal didn't hear him.

While his younger brother was talking, Hal started hearing a ringing in his ears, and the darkness claimed him again.

 **AN** – Again, I have not been to New York City, so I apologize if I got the details wrong.

In the season 2 finale, when Karen and the Overlord captured Tom, Hal and everyone else, it looked to me like she was using telekinesis to hold them, so that's where that idea came from. Plus, often when there are stories of someone have telepathy, they are also telekinetic, so it made sense to me. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I shall update soon.


	17. Not Over Yet

**Disclaimer** \- Still own nothing.

 **Enjoy!**

Tom stood in the doorway of the hospital room, looking at where Hal was lying on the bed, still out cold. They knew instantly that Karen was dead when the skitters tried fleeing. They didn't make it very far before they were killed. Once the skitters were taken care of, Tom had Tector and Anthony check on the Berserkers while he, Weaver, Matt, and Maggie went to find Hal and Ben.

Upon finding his sons, and Ben telling him what all happened, he immediately contacted the Volm, who picked them up in the same transport ship they traveled to the city on, and took them back to Charleston. Once they got back to the city, Hal was again rushed to the hospital.

"You're sure he's going to be okay?" Tom asked, looking over his shoulder at Anne, who was standing in the hallway, a chart in her hand.

"It appears that the fluid in his system has sped up his healing, just like Ben's spikes do. He'll have to wear a brace on his wrist for a little while, but even now, you can't tell how badly it was broken before. And according to the scans we ran, there's no sign of brain damage, but I can't find a reason why he apparently had a seizure. We'll probably need to wait until he wakes up to find out what happened, but other than that, yes, he'll be okay." Anne explained.

"And Ben?" Tom questioned.

"He's fine. A few cuts and bruises, but no concussion or broken bones. Lourdes and Deni are with him right now, though he's really worried about Hal. Once Lourdes has cleaned him up, he'll probably make his way here." Anne told him.

Tom nodded, then entered the hospital room. Maggie was curled up in a chair beside the bed, and Matt was slowly nodding off in his own chair on the other side of the bed. Coming to his youngest son's side, Tom knelt down, and gently shook the boy's shoulder, getting his attention.

"Hey, why don't you go to your room and get some real sleep?" Tom suggested as Matt sat up straighter in his chair and looked at his father.

"No, I'm fine here." Matt responded.

"Matt, he's going to be okay, and he'll probably be out for while yet. Besides, you have school tomorrow." Tom reminded his youngest son.

"I'm not going anywhere." Matt insisted.

"Matthew." Tom warned, and Matt looked away from his Dad to his brother. Tom rubbed Matt's shoulder comfortingly.

"He's going to be okay. There's not much you can do here, and you know he'd want you to get some sleep too. Tell you what, you go get some sleep, and the minute he wakes up, I'll have someone come and get you. Even if you're at school, I'll pull you out. Okay?" Tom offered.

Matt turned his gaze back to his father, then again to his brother. He knew that was probably going to be the best deal he'd get in this situation. Tom had already shown that he was upset at how many times he ditched school to help out on missions and patrols. So, reluctantly, Matt nodded, and headed back to his room.

Tom moved to sit in the chair that his son just vacated. Looking away from Hal's laxed face, his gaze found Maggie. She hadn't woken up at all during the exchange he just had with Matt. She continued sleeping soundly, though he knew her neck and back would be stiff and sore in the morning.

He was only in the room for a few minutes when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Tom looked to the doorway and found Pope of all people staring at him. The Mason patriarch stood and headed over to the ex-criminal, leading him away from the door.

"What is it Pope?" Tom asked once they were in the hallway.

"16 people died in that mission Mason. Eight of them were my Berserkers." Pope informed him, disapproval and anger in his voice. Tom knew what he was getting at.

"Karen has been a thorn in our neck since pretty much the beginning. She needed to be taken down, and she has. Now, the Espheni are going to be running amok which makes them easier targets and less likely to mount another attack on the city." Tom explained.

"Until they get a new Overlord to replace her. Let's be honest Mason, you did this because of your kid. She was after him, so you took her out, and innocent people died because of it." Pope argued.

"After my son or not, she was a threat that had to be eliminated. And I'm not the only parent here Pope. What if it was one of your kids? What if you had found them, and then realized they were being targeted by the aliens? Are you telling me you wouldn't do whatever it took to protect them? Maybe the attack was personal for me, but it still needed be done. Those people who died, yes, it's a tragedy, but they signed up for it. They knew what they were getting into. I'm not going to apologize for trying to destroy a dangerous enemy, and protecting everyone in this city, including my son." Tom stated, then turned on his heel and walked back into his son's room.

Pope stood in his spot in silence and shock. Of all the defenses he imagined the Professor using, that was not one of them. He hadn't really thought of what he would do if it was his kids. After the attack, he had assumed they were either harnessed or dead, and came to peace with it a long time ago. The idea of hoping that they were safe and alive, only to find out he was wrong hurt too much. It was easier to assume the worst.

But as he looked at the young Mason in the hospital bed, he imagined his own son in there, in the position that kid had found himself in. And he knew, he would've probably done the same thing. So, he turned and walked away, leaving the family in peace.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom watched his son sleep. It was almost 11 o'clock at night now, almost twelve hours since they attacked New York, and Hal had yet to even stir. He was beginning to get worried.

"Tom?" The President looked up and saw Weaver standing in the doorway, "How's he doing?" The Colonel asked coming into the room.

"Anne says he'll be okay, but he still hasn't woken up yet." Tom told his friend.

"Cochise is here. He's in the board room with Marina. They want to talk about the mission, and get started planning another offensive against the aliens." Weaver said.

"Can't that wait until morning?" Tom wondered.

"According to Cochise, the sooner we get started the better. It won't take long before the Overlords start attacking us again in retaliation for what we did." Weaver explained. Tom nodded, then went over to Maggie. He gently shook her shoulder, instantly waking her.

"What is it? Is Hal-" Maggie started, looking over to the bed and seeing that Hal was still asleep.

"Hal's fine, but I have to go. Keep an eye on him?" He knew that she would keep an eye on him anyways, but he wanted to make sure. Maggie nodded, and Tom left the room with Weaver.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

It was a loud, steady beeping that insisted that Hal woke up. Slowly, he opened his eyes and immediately recognized the Charleston infirmary room. While he was somewhat annoyed that he managed to land himself in the infirmary again, he didn't feel as nervous or guarded as he usually did. He felt safe, and warm. There was no need to fear this place.

"Hal?" Turning his head to the right, Hal found Maggie sitting in the chair beside him. She smiled when he looked at her.

"Hi." Hal whispered.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" Maggie asked worriedly, as he felt her fingers brush against his.

"I'm okay, just a little tired and sore." Hal answered, his voice growing a little stronger. He moved his right hand so he could grab Maggie's, but a sudden flare of pain made him stop.

Hal looked down, and saw a black brace on his wrist and he remembered how Karen snapped it, hearing, feeling the bone break. But if it was broken, wouldn't he be wearing a cast?

"Yeah, you broke your wrist. But according to Anne, it's healing at a fast rate, a little faster than Ben actually. It should be fully healed sometime tomorrow." Maggie told him when she saw him looking down at his arm. Hal nodded, then another thought came to mind.

"Is Ben okay?" Hal wanted to know.

"Yeah, he's fine. He's pretty worried about you though. Lourdes is taking care of him. Your Dad and Matt were here, but he sent Matt to bed, then had to go talk to Weaver and Marina. You've been out for a few hours. It's past midnight." Maggie revealed. Hal again nodded, letting her know that he heard her, but he let his eyes close. He was so tired. Then, he felt Maggie's hand on his forehead, her fingers in his hair.

"Go back to sleep Hal. It's okay, you're safe." Maggie whispered, and Hal let his exhaustion claim him.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _Hal walked towards the glowing blue light. As he came closer, the light started dimming. In the center of the light, sitting on a pedestal in a glass box, was a light blue crystal, small enough to fit in his hand. It was a perfect circle, except for a spot in the top, which looked as though a piece of it had been broken off._

 _Suddenly, Karen came over, holding a large, black wire. It looked like the same kind of wire that she used to hold them captive back when they destroyed the Espheni weapon before the Volm came._

 _Hal watched as Karen attached the wire to the box. Once the wire made contact with it, the crystal started to glow again. Karen looked from the box, to a super Mech on the other side of the room that Hal didn't notice before. Then, it was like the machine just turned on. The light on the robot lit up and it stood up. Karen pulled the wire away from box, and the crystal stopped glowing once again._

 _The scene suddenly changed, and he was in a spaceship. He was in a hallway, but it was bigger, and darker than the one he was on with Karen. Hal remembered seeing this before, in a dream weeks ago. He walked down the hall, seeing only one door. Once he reached it, he pushed it open._

 _An Overlord was in the room, standing in front a large window. They were in space, looking at planet Earth below. The Overlord turned around and actually got to his knees and bowed down. Hal looked to the other side of the room and stared in shock._

Hal awoke with a gasp, instantly sitting up in the bed. His blood was pumping hard, and he could feel the cold sweat covering his body.

"Hal! Hal, you're okay. It's okay, calm down." Hal heard his father's voice. He felt hands resting on his shoulders, and the bed dip down under someone's weight. Slowly, Hal turned his head and looked at his Dad, who had sat down beside him.

"Hal, what happened?" Tom asked, moving one of his hands of Hal's shoulders.

"Something's coming, something bad, dangerous. Dad, it's worse than an Overlord."

 **AN** – Yes, another cliffhanger. Considering the timeline, this is actually probably where I would end season 4, if this is what actually happened of course. This is an AU after all. Don't worry, next update will be soon.


	18. An Unexpected Variable

**Disclaimer** – Own nothing.

 **AN** – So, I decided to post this chapter earlier than I would've because I have a lot of major assignments do for school this upcoming week. Which means my next update won't be till next Friday. Sorry, but I hope you guys like this chapter. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

Hal waited on his bed for his Dad to come back with Cochise and Weaver. The minute Hal said that Karen had given him something, information, or a memory, something like that, his Dad stopped him. He told him to wait until he got Weaver and Cochise. And apparently, Maggie had been sent on a patrol a few hours ago, so he was left to wait alone.

"Hey." Hal looked up and saw Ben standing in the doorway. There was a small cut above his eyebrow, but appeared fine besides that.

"Hey. You okay?" Hal asked as Ben entered the room and sat down on the bed beside him.

"I'm fine, just a few cuts. What about you? How's your wrist?" Ben wondered.

"Anne says it'll be okay. Should be as good as new in a few hours." Hal replied.

"Good." Ben said, and was to say something else when the door opened again, and their Dad, Cochise, and Weaver came in.

"Hal, how are you feeling?" Weaver asked.

"I'm okay." Hal answered.

"Good. Your Dad says you saw something when Karen was in your head." Weaver said.

"Yeah. I saw two things. I saw what that glowing thing was, the thing in the warehouse where Karen, where I was kept. It was some sort of crystal." Hal told them. Cochise somehow looked more alert than he was before, and took a few steps closer.

"This crystal, was it glowing blue?" Cochise questioned.

"Yeah, it was." Hal responded.

"Was it broken at the end?" The alien continued pressing.

"Yeah, yeah it was." Cochise stared at him, but didn't say anything else, so Hal continued, "And in the memory, the crystal was in a glass box. Karen had this huge wire or something in her hand. She attached it to the box and it started glowing again. A Mech, was attached to the other end of the wire. Suddenly, it just turned on, like she had flipped a switch or something."

"And you're saying this was in the warehouse where you were held, where we attacked." Cochise said.

"Yes." Hal confirmed. Cochise continued staring at him, as though he was trying to figure something out.

"Cochise, what is it?" Tom asked.

"It's a power source. That crystal is what powers all the Espheni technology. Mechs, beamers, spaceships, even the Overlords ability to control their skitters through the harnesses." Cochise informed them.

"What? All that technology powered by a crystal? One that was small enough to fit in my hand?" Hal exclaimed.

"Yes. And if it were to be destroyed, the Overlords would be, basically powerless. A few generations ago, when the Volm first started attacking the Espheni, they did not perceive us as much of a threat. We managed to get to the power source. Our forces almost destroyed the crystal, but they failed, though they did manage to break a piece off. After that, the crystal, and the other part that was torn off all but disappeared. This was the first time it had come up since then." Cochise explained.

"But the building exploded. Wouldn't it have been destroyed in the blast?" Ben asked, remembering what Cochise had told them after they found Hal.

"If only it were that easy. As a matter of fact, we do not even know how our ancestors managed to break it in the first place. You said there were two things you saw, what was the other thing?" Cochise questioned.

"The other memory she gave me, was of a spaceship. It was big, bigger than Karen's. I went down the hall into a room, looked like the main room. There was an Overlord there, he turned around, got down on his knees and bowed. I looked to what he was bowing at, and saw," Hal paused for a moment, before finishing, "it looked like a huge spider or something. Like, huge, at least six times bigger than a skitter. And it seemed way worse than an Overlord."

"Cochise, you never told us there was something more powerful than an Overlord." Tom chimed in, looking at his alien friend in slight confusion that he would keep something like this secret.

"I, I didn't know. Not for sure anyways. It had been, speculated that the Overlords seemed to, worship some higher power, but we never imagined that it was something like this."

"It's the Queen." Everyone turned their heads to the door when they heard Lexi's voice. She stood in the doorway, staring at Hal.

"Lexi, what do you mean?" Tom asked, as he went over to his daughter, and crouched down in front of her.

"What Karen showed Hal. It's the Espheni Queen. She's coming to Earth. Karen told me about it when Mommy and I were with her. Karen said that the Queen is in charge of them, that she gives them life and takes care of them." Lexi explained, her words sounding strange with her young voice.

"Why didn't you tell me or Mommy this earlier?" Tom wondered, realizing how important this information was.

"I didn't think about it till now when I heard Hal talking about it." Lexi told him.

"If what your child says is true, then this changes everything. Normally, when the Espheni attack a planet, they leave after they've killed out the race on that planet. Never before has this, Queen, made an appearance. That can mean only one thing." Cochise said.

"And what's that?" Weaver asked.

"That the aliens have changed their goal from invasion, to occupation."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Occupation. The aliens want to live on our planet? That's why they attacked us and our either trying to enslave or kill us?" Tom wanted confirmation.

"It would appear so. The entire time my race has been fighting the Espheni, never have we learned anything about their homeworld. It is possible that they had to flee and are looking for a new place." Cochise said.

"And they chose ours, great." Tom's tone told them all just how he felt about that. He looked at the faces of everyone in the room, then said, "Ben, why don't you take Lexi to Lourdes's apartment, she said she could watch her for the day. Then track down Matt. I told him I'd get someone to tell him when Hal was awake."

Ben, though he wanted to stay, nodded. He got of the bed and went over to his sister. Taking her hand, he led her out of the room. Once they were gone, Tom turned back to his oldest.

"Did you see anything else?" Tom questioned. Hal shook his head, lowering his gaze down to a spot on the floor.

"Okay, then we need to find out if this Queen is already here, and where she is. Or, where she will be." Tom stated.

"I agree. I shall inform my father, and the other Volm to keep an eye out." Cochise told them, and walked out of the room without another word.

"The best way to find out about the Queen is through an Overlord. Weaver, we should check out those Espheni outposts in the area that we haven't hit yet, see if any are there." Tom decided. If Weaver had an objection to that, he didn't say it. He just took one last look at Hal, then left the room.

Once they were gone, Tom turned back to his son who was still sitting on the hospital bed. He hadn't said much after telling everyone what he had seen in Karen's mind, and was still silent now.

"You okay?" Tom asked, moving to stand in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just," Hal stopped mid-sentence, and looked away from his father's face.

"Just what?" Tom pressed and Hal looked down at his lap.

"What happened to Karen's body?" Hal wondered, finally meeting Tom's eyes. Hal's own brown irises were filled with pain, and sadness.

"Um, we left her there, on the street. But don't worry, she's dead. Ben checked, so did Weaver. We don't have to worry about her anymore." Tom assured him, but Hal shook his head.

"She deserved better than that. The real Karen, I mean. She deserved a proper burial at least." Tom was a little stunned to hear his oldest say that, then quickly realized what was going on.

"You're right, the real Karen did. But we didn't have time, and the real Karen, she died a long time ago. I know you feel guilty because you couldn't save her, but it wasn't your fault. She, she was gone the minute the Overlords put that harness on her. There wasn't anything you could do." Tom told his son.

"It's just, I know she was gone, that she had become a, a monster. And I hate, everything that she did, to me, to you, to everyone. But I think, deep down, there still was a part of her that was still there. She gave me those memories, about that power source and the Queen. That wasn't an accident. Why would she do that if she wasn't there?" Hal managed to say. His eyes were filling with tears and his voice threatened to crack.

"I don't know. Maybe she was still there, at least, in the end. And, as terrible as she had been, I think a part of her still loved you. But, from what I remember of her, I think she would've wanted you to stop her from hurting anyone, from helping the aliens." Tom responded, seeing a tear slip down his boy's cheek.

"Come here." Tom opened up his arms, and wrapped them around Hal. The young man didn't even hesitate to return the embrace. The father could feel his son bury his head into his shoulder, his clothes getting wet with Hal's tears.

"It's okay, it's okay." Tom whispered, holding his boy closer as Hal finally allowed himself to grieve for the one he couldn't save.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Why didn't you guys get me earlier?" Matt demanded to know as he walked beside Ben down the hall towards the infirmary. Once the youngest brother realized that Hal had been awake for at least an hour, he was pretty angry that they had waited this long to come and get him, especially when their Dad promised he would tell get someone to tell him directly.

"Sorry, but when Dad realized what Hal saw, he wanted to get Cochise and Weaver and have Hal tell them. He didn't want to risk Hal forgetting what it was, and he decided that it's something that needs to be dealt with immediately. And hey, you still get to skip math class." Ben explained. Matt nodded, remembering what his older brother told him about what Hal had seen.

Matt looked over at Ben. There was something wrong with him, he was getting a weird vibe. Even though he had apparently already seen Hal, talked with him, knew he was okay, he still seemed worried about something.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Matt asked after a few moments.

"Nothing." Ben replied, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

"You're lying. I'm not a little kid anymore, and I'm sick of you, Hal, Dad, Anne and everyone treating me like one." Matt blurted out, stopping in his tracks. Ben turned around in shock.

Ben sighed and nodded, stating, "You're right. It's just, it's something I don't think Hal would want you to know. I don't think he even wanted me to find out about. I'm just worried about him, that's all."

The shock and hurt that Ben had been feeling ever since he saw what his older brother went through weighed heavily on him. He was hoping that when he went to see Hal earlier, he could talk to him about it, but their Dad had interrupted them when he came in the room with Cochise and Weaver. And after Hal told them what Karen had shown him, everything else got pushed to the side.

Matt accepted Ben's explanation, though still did not look very happy. Ben through his arm around his younger brother's shoulders, and pulled him along towards Hal's room.

Once they got to the room, they found Hal sitting up on the bed. Anne was standing in front of him, taking the brace off his wrist. When they heard the door open, they both turned to see who entered the room.

"Hey, wondering when you two were going to appear." Hal said with a smile coming onto his face. The younger Masons smiled back and walked over to him.

"Hey, are you doing?" Matt asked.

"I'm good. Finally getting rid of this stupid brace." Hal told them.

"You've been wearing this for 12 hours at most, and only been awake for about two. And without your apparently fast healing rate, you'd be wearing an actual cast, and for way longer than a day. I don't think you have any right to complain mister." Anne stated with a grin.

When the brace was off, the doctor place it on the table by the foot of the bed, then turned back to Hal.

"So, how's it feeling?" Hal bent his fingers, then twirled his wrist.

"Feels a little weird, but it doesn't hurt." Hal said after a minute.

"Good. But, I want you to take it easy with that arm, for the rest of the day at least." Anne ordered, "Other than that, you're free to go."

"Sweet," Hal commented, grabbing his jacket that was hanging over the back of the chair in the room, and hopped off the mattress, "I'm starved. Is it lunch yet?"

"Yeah, cafeteria started serving a few minutes ago. Wanna go?" Matt asked.

"Oh yeah." Hal replied, slipping his coat on. Putting an hand on Matt's back, and with Ben beside him, they walked out of the room.

As soon as they got near the cafeteria, Matt ran ahead to get a spot in line while Ben stayed behind with Hal. It finally gave him an opportunity to talk to his older brother.

"So, you sure you're okay?" Ben asked.

"I'm okay. Just, relieved that everything with Karen is over." Hal responded, keeping his eyes on the stairs they were approaching.

"Hal, about what Karen made you see, those memories, I saw them." Ben revealed.

"I know, but, this isn't really the best time to talk about this." Ben couldn't really argue with that as they were almost to one of the busiest parts of the city. Yet, he knew that Hal would avoid this topic for as long as he possibly could, so he grabbed Hal's shoulder and stopped him. Hal turned and looked at him, his face completely guarded.

"Just, just promise me, that if does start to affect you more than it is right now, that if it gets worse, you don't just bury it or express it as anger. I did that, and it didn't end so well. I don't want you to go down that road. You can talk to me." Ben told him. Hal sighed, and nodded.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Hal said.

"You two coming or not?" Ben and Hal turned at the sound of Matt's voice. He was standing at the top of the staircase waiting for them, looking very impatient. Hal smiled and came over to Matt. Together, they started heading down the stairs while Ben followed behind, keeping an eye on his older brother.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"So, it actually was a power source." Kadar stated. Tom nodded, looking at around the doctor's lab.

"That it is. It powers all the Espheni technology. If it is destroyed, all of the spaceships, beamers and Mech will cease to function. They'd be quite vulnerable." Cochise, the only other occupant in the room told him.

"Then why do they use our fuel for the Mechs, and possibly the beamers?" Kadar questioned.

"The crystal, while powerful, doesn't provide fuel. It sends out powerful energy waves that give the technology the ability to function, but without the fuel it does not work. One of the most complicated problems with the stone, is that it need to connect, or bond, with the technology first. Once it has done that, the technology will be able attract and pick up those waves of energy, powering it, and giving the Overlords control over it." Cochise explained.

"The Overlords are connected to it too?" Tom wondered.

"Yes, they are exposed to its energy while still in their fetal stage of development."

"So, it's like watching TV. In order to watch cable, you have to first have a dish set up, otherwise your TV won't pick up the satellite rays." Kadar put in layman's terms.

"You said that this also is used to power the harness, and the fluid they release which is how Ben connects with them. Hal has something akin to that fluid in him as well, and those brain surgeries. But how is he stronger than them though?" Tom asked.

"The explosion, that went off in the building. When the bomb went off, it hit the crystal with a powerful, destructive force. The crystal unleashes its own power to protect itself. Hal was exposed to that. It's probably what saved his life in the explosion. He received an extremely higher amount of its energy than what the Overlords normally use on themselves. That also makes him the best person to find it." Cochise informed the father.

"What do you mean?" Tom questioned.

"Like your sons can feel when skitters and Overlords are near, they should be able to sense the stone as well. It is the source of their strength and abilities. Because Hal was exposed to a much higher degree of its power, he will have a much stronger connection to it than Ben." Cochise told him.

"And if we destroy it, what will happen to Hal, and Ben?" Tom pressed.

"Ben's spikes will most likely stop working and in all cases, die. Hal will probably be unable to communicate with the Espheni, and his healing rate will go back to normal."

"What about the skitters and the Overlords?" Kadar chimed back in.

"The Espheni have used the crystal so many times that for them, they now have it connected to their DNA. Destroying the stone will not kill them, but it will destroy their ability to communicate over long distances, and the Overlords will not be able to control their subservants over a long distance as well. The skitters, unless they are within close enough range of the Overlords, will be not be controlled by the Overlords. They will be as they once were before they were harnessed."

"If we find this power source, and destroy it, we can finally get ahead of them. We could finally weaken them enough to end this war. We need to find it." Tom decided.

"Except, we have no idea how to find it. And even if we do, we have no idea how to destroy it. How are we going to get past that?" Kadar asked, looking at the President.

"I'll take care of finding it. You two, focus on finding a way to destroy it. Cochise, you said that the Volm almost destroyed it before. Can you get information on what all happened?"

"Yes, it might take a few days, but I can." Cochise answered.

"Do it. I want all focus on finding this power source. Once Cochise gives you the information, I need you to find out all you can about what happened, and how to destroy it. Also, I want to be updated if you find anything at all about this Queen." Cochise nodded, then headed out of the dark lab to the Volm compound.

"Do you really think we can do this?" Kadar questioned once the alien was gone.

"It's our best bet, maybe our only bet. We don't have a choice."


	19. Desperate Measures

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

"Tom, we just launched the attack on New York City two days ago. 16 people are dead and we are burying them today. You want to start planning another attack now?" Weaver asked incredulously.

"If we take time in between attacks, it gives the Espheni more time to regroup and attack us. We need to strike again before they can do that. This base is far closer than New York, less than a day's drive away. Not as big, so less skitters and Mechs." Tom informed the Colonel.

"But there is an Overlord." Weaver pointed out.

"Yes, but we know if we can get to the Overlord, the Mechs and skitters will stand down. They won't risk their leader getting hurt." Tom stated.

"And we can't get the information from the rebel skitters because?" Weaver waited for an answer.

"Ben already asked them about it yesterday. They know nothing about the power source or an Espheni Queen. Apparently, the Overlords have been keeping it all secret from the skitters. An Overlord is the only alien we can get more answers from."

"When are you planning to launch this attack?" Weaver wondered, knowing that he wouldn't be to talk the President out of his decision.

"At the end of the week."

"In two days? The soldiers need more time than that to recover from the fight in New York." Weaver protested.

"They'll be fine. We need more answers Weaver. Hal's given us some very important information, but we need more. This, gives us a shot at getting it. We need to do this." Tom insisted.

For a long moment, Weaver stared at the man who had become his friend. He was really starting to worry about Tom. He knew that they did need more information, but the lengths the President was now willingly to go showed just how desperate he truly was, and Weaver knew that it had to do with the man's children.

With Lexi being a human/alien hybrid, Ben having his spikes, and with whatever Hal had become, the man was doing everything he could to protect his family. It was something deep down, Weaver couldn't fault him for, as he knew that odds were, he'd do the same if it was Jeanne.

"Alright, but we do this as safely, and as carefully as we can. No rushing into it, and no unneeded risks." Weaver compromised.

"I wouldn't do it any other way." Tom agreed.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

After the burial and memorial for the soldiers who died, Hal sat by the water's edge, looking over the river. The Volm complex stood on the other side. He wondered what was going to happen now. While Karen did give him important intel, there didn't seem to be anything they could do about it. They didn't know when or where the Queen will arrive, and they had no clue how to destroy their power source.

Though the talk with his Dad helped a little, the question still burned in Hal's mind. Why did Karen give him those secrets? She had made it very clear she chose to side with the Espheni, believed in what they were doing, did everything she could to follow them, yet while she laid dying, she gave him the knowledge, or at least part of it, to destroy them. Why?

"There you are. Been looking all over for you." Hal turned around and smiled when he saw Maggie coming up behind him.

"Sorry, just wanted to get away from the crowd a little." Hal told her as she sat down beside him.

"You doing okay?" Maggie asked, grabbing his hand.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me." Hal replied with a smile, entwining his fingers with hers. Before Maggie could say anything to that, Hal lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers in a kiss. It didn't last long as Maggie pulled away, knowing what he was trying to do.

"Don't think that's going to distract me mister. Come on, I know you better than that. What's going on?" Maggie pressed. Hal sighed, and looked back at the river.

"I know, that the Karen I knew, was long gone before she died. And I hate everything she did, and I hated the person she became. But, I just don't understand why she would give me intel that could destroy the aliens she was working with." Hal explained.

"I can't answer that for you. I don't think anyone can. But, I think the only thing that matters is that she did. And now, we need to act on it." Maggie said. Hal looked back at her, and gave her a small smile.

"She's right," The pair turned their heads to find Tom walking towards them, "And we will be acting on it in two days."

"We're launching another attack? Already?" Hal asked, surprised at how soon they would be going out.

"Well, a few soldiers, Weaver and I will be. You on the other hand are staying here." Tom answered.

"What? But Dad, I'm fine. Anne cleared me." Hal protested.

"It's not a very risky mission Hal, we don't need as many soldiers. And Anne and I both agreed that you need to rest. Don't worry, not even Ben is coming on this one. You just take it easy for now." Without waiting for a reply, Tom turned around and walked back up to the city.

"I guess he's putting his foot down this time." Hal commented bitterly, staring at his father's retreating

"I don't blame him. You scared us all when we found you unconscious with blood running down your nose and ears." Maggie told him.

"I know, but I'm fine now."

"Still, if that's going to happen every single time you connect with an Overlord or skitter, maybe it's a good idea to keep you out of the fight for a while. Just until you get a better handle on controlling who gets into your head." She suggested.

Hal shrugged his shoulders, and looked down at her hand that he was still holding. He couldn't deny that Maggie had a point, and he was getting rather sick of constantly being in the hospital. Though it was annoying that he was being benched after only one mission.

"You want to get out of here?" Hal looked back up into Maggie's brown eyes and smiled.

"Yeah." Together they stood up and headed back to the city.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben stood by the window, staring at the line of jeeps driving away from Charleston. Two nights ago, after the burial and memorial for the fighters who died, his Dad came and told him about the next attack they were planning. That was when Tom told him that he wouldn't be coming with them, but didn't say why. Now, he was left to watch all the other soldiers go, while he stayed with the rest of his family.

"Whatcha doing Benji?" Ben couldn't help but smile at the sound of Deni's perky voice. He continued staring out the window as he heard the young woman come to stand beside him.

"And what is so entertaining about moving jeeps?" Deni asked when she saw what her friend was looking at.

"Nothing. I just, can't think of a reason as to why my Dad wouldn't let me go. I'm not hurt or anything, and I've always been a part of these missions." Ben told her.

"Well, he didn't let Hal or Matt come along either. And I'm still here too." Deni pointed out, as the vehicles drove out of sight.

"I know, but Hal had a seizure on the last mission, and was unconscious for hours. Matt is still too young, and you," Ben stopped when he couldn't think of a reason for why his Dad wouldn't let Deni go with them either.

"I'm what?" Deni teased with a smile before continuing, "I get what you're trying to say, but, maybe there is a reason. For now though, I'm starving. Come on Manga freak, let's get something to eat."

Before Ben could say anything, Deni grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the window and towards the cafeteria.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

It wasn't until the morning did Ben find out the reason as to why his Dad didn't let him, Hal, or Deni on the mission. He had just finished his breakfast when Weaver found him and told him that his Dad wanted him.

Weaver led him through the building towards the basement where anyone barely ever ventured. It was usually just used for storage. Ben was getting a little worried as to what was down here, and why all the secrecy.

The first thing Ben saw was his Dad, then Anthony standing in front of something. And Anthony was pointing his gun at whatever it was they were looking at. Before he could get close enough to see what it was, Tom came over and stood in front of him.

"What you see, stays secret from everyone else, got it?" His Dad may have phrased it as a question, but it was very clear to Ben that it was actually an order.

"Okay." Ben agreed, but Tom didn't move.

"The reason for the attack, was because we need more intel about what Hal told us. And there was someone at the Espheni base who could tell us." Tom explained, walking back to Anthony. Ben followed, and saw an Overlord kneeling, hands chained down to the floor in a makeshift prison cell.

The minute the Overlord was in sight, everything clicked in Ben's mind. The urgency in the mission, especially so quick after he didn't get any answers from the skitters, and why it was kept secret. If word got out that an Overlord was being held in the city, everyone would freak out.

Ben didn't need his Dad to tell him what he wanted him to do. The answer was obvious. He wanted him to get in the Overlord's head and find the answers they needed. He looked over to his Dad, and saw that he was already looking at him, a questioning look on his face. Ben nodded, and turned to face the alien.

Once Ben opened up his mind, he felt the spikes start to glow and connect with the Espheni. The Overlord, who had seemed to be ignoring them, finally reacted. He looked up at Ben with an almost curious expression, before turning to look back at the ground. Ben felt nothing to connect with, and the spikes stopped glowing.

"He's blocking me. He doesn't have anything to say and he's not giving me a chance to get into his head." Ben informed the group when he realized what was happening.

"Can't you push your way in?" Tom asked.

"I can try, but the last time I got in an Overlord's head he connected with me first. I don't know for sure how to do it just by forcing myself in though." Ben told his father, before closing his eyes and trying again.

As hard as Ben pushed, the Overlord's mental walls seemed to grow stronger. He was not letting the young man get inside at all. He wasn't even willing to connect just so he could say something, not even a taunt or threat. And again, Ben couldn't get in.

"No, he's too strong. I can't unless he's willing to connect with me." Ben said, looking over at his father. Tom sighed, turning his gaze from his son back to the Overlord.

"What if we weaken him? Would that help you get in?" Tom questioned, looking back at his middle son. At first, Ben was confused by what his Dad meant by weakening him, when he saw the look in his eyes. Weaken the Overlord by hurting him, which he might end up feeling.

Despite knowing that if he was connected to the Overlord when Tom hurt him, Ben nodded and said, "Yeah, that might work."

Tom nodded, then looked over at Anthony, who had been standing guard silently, the entire time. He gave a nod of acknowledgement to the President, then fired his gun, the bullet hitting the Overlord in the knee.

While the Overlord seemed to shriek in pain, hands going to the injury, Ben immediately tried to connect again. This time, he managed to slip in.

The first thing Ben felt was the almost overwhelming pain from the Overlord's injury, but he pushed passed that, and tried to find the answers they needed. He imagined the power crystal from what Hal described, and used that image to guide him in the alien's mind. It didn't take long to find it. His big brother wasn't kidding when he said how bright it glowed.

Just as soon as he saw it though, the Overlord became aware of what he was doing, and instantly shoved Ben out of his mind.

"Did it work?" Tom asked once he saw Ben's spikes stop glowing. The blonde looked up at the Overlord, who appeared to be glaring at him, before turning to his Dad.

"At first, but once he realized what I was doing, he pushed me out. I don't think hurting him again is going to work. He knows what we're trying to do, and what we want to know." Ben answered.

Tom looked down at the ground, then at Weaver, then back at Ben. He started walking away from the prisoner, grabbing his son's arm and pulled him along. Weaver followed behind them while Anthony stayed guarding the Overlord.

"Is there anyway you can think of to get in his head?" Tom questioned almost desperately.

"His walls are too strong for me to get through without him connecting with me. Maybe if Deni and I both tried it together, but I don't know." Ben replied. His Dad looked deep in thought.

"Tom, if Ben isn't strong enough to do this, then we need someone stronger." Weaver chimed in. The young soldier was confused, then quickly realized what the Colonel meant.

"No. No way. Dad, you can't. We have no idea what could happen, and he's never done anything like this. We can't." Ben protested. The President, while keeping his gaze at the floor, said the exact opposite of what he knew his son wanted to say.

"We don't have a choice Ben. Weaver, go find Hal."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

When Weaver told Hal that his Dad wanted him, he thought they would be heading to his office, yet the Colonel was leading him to an abandoned part of the mall's basement. The farther they traveled, the more tense and guarded Hal got. He felt like he was being led to an execution or something. There was no one else down here that he could see, and he wished he had his gun.

"So, what are we doing down here?" Hal asked casually, trying to hide how nervous he was starting to get.

"You'll see." Was the only response he got.

After a few more minutes, Weaver turned a corner which led to a dead end a few feet away where his Dad, Ben, and Anthony stood. They were facing the wall to the right, where Hal could tell was another turn, but Hal couldn't see what they were looking at.

As they approached the group, all three fighters turned to look at Hal and Weaver. The first thing Hal noted, was the almost guilty and upset expression on Ben's face, while his Dad tried to remain stoic.

"How are you feeling Hal?" Tom questioned, voice concerned and quiet.

"For the hundredth time, I'm fine. Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Hal asked, again looking around his surroundings, trying to find any answers or clues he could.

"Okay. While you gave us important information, we need more. We need to find out where that power source is. We checked with the rebel skitters, but they didn't know anything. The mission we went on yesterday, was because the base had an Overlord." Tom started to explain before Hal cut him off.

"You're telling me, you guys managed to capture an Overlord, and get it back to the city without everyone knowing about it?"

"With great difficulty, yes, we did. Ben then tried to get into his head, and find out what we need to know, but he can't unless his spikes connect to the Overlord's mind, which he is blocking." Tom finished, looking as though he was feeling guilty yet desperate at the same time.

"So, you want me to try." Hal realized.

"You are stronger than Ben, and you were able to get into Karen's head without her initiating it." Weaver reminded him.

"Not too mention, Cochise did say that you had a longer and much more exposure to their power source, most likely making you stronger than them." Tom included. At that, Ben came over to them.

"You don't have to do this Hal. I can try again, maybe even get Deni to help." Ben assured his brother, but Hal shook his head.

"No, it's okay. I can try." Hal told them. Tom, although looked reluctant, nodded and led his son towards the Overlord.

When Hal had the Overlord in sight, he saw the alien was in a makeshift cell, hands chained to the floor, almost exactly the way the other Overlord they had captured in the hospital was. It looked like his knee was bleeding, but the Espheni appeared to be ignoring it.

The alien didn't move until he heard them approach the cell. He lifted his head to look at them, and tried to lunge at Hal.

Tom's arm immediately shot out in front of Hal, pushing him back slightly, and Ben grabbed Hal's shoulder, both putting him in a sort of protected position. It wasn't really needed though as the Overlord didn't get far since he was still restrained, and the cell door was still shut and locked. Despite that, Hal appreciated the gestures because they covered up the fact that he had visibly flinched when the Overlord moved. Even Anthony and Weaver had pointed their guns at the alien's head. And there was something about the alien, that almost seemed familiar to Hal, but he didn't know what or why.

"Guess he doesn't like me." Hal commented, trying to lighten the mood.

"This is a bad idea." Ben insisted, but again, Hal shook his head.

"No, It's okay." Hal repeated, shrugging his brother's hand off his shoulder, then pushed his father's arm out of the way. He walked closer to the cage, and stared down the Espheni leader. Then he lowered his guard and instantly connected to the alien's mind.

Rage. Pure anger, that was all the Overlord was feeling. It was overwhelming, Hal wanted to punch something just to release it, but he pushed through the emotion, focusing only on the Queen and the power source.

 _Hal suddenly was standing in front of a statue in front of a building. At least, that's what it looked like. He lifted his eyes up, and saw the statue was a man, sitting down on a chair. The head had been broken off, but he still recognized it. Abraham Lincoln._

Pressing farther, he allowed the memory of the power crystal to guide him.

 _A Volm stood in front of stone, holding a stick, the end moving towards it. Hal recognized the stick the alien was holding as the weapon Karen used to torture his Dad nearly two years ago, when she held them all captive._

 _The end started glowing blue and crackled with electricity as it got closer to the crystal. In response, the power source started to glow. The minute the end touched the stone, the light became to bright that it forced Hal to shut his eyes, and the crystal let out let out a force wave that would've pushed Hal to the ground if it wasn't a memory._

 _The Overlord's voice echoed in Hal's head, "It gives, but cannot receive."_

 _As soon as it came, the image and voice was gone, replaced by something else. Hal saw himself, lying on a table, bloodied ropes around his wrists and appeared to be unconscious._

 _"_ _I should have killed you when I had the chance" The Overlord said._

Hal was suddenly cut off from the connection as Ben's fist slammed into his jaw.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Everything appeared to be going okay. Hal opened his eyes, revealing the fact they were glowing. The Overlord didn't make a move on him, and Hal didn't start bleeding from his nose or ears at all. However, everyone was so focused on Hal that no one saw Ben's spikes starting to glow.

Ben suddenly punched Hal in the face, and pushed him to the ground. Tom was immediately pulling his middle son away from his brother, while Weaver and Anthony both fired at the Overlord's head, killing it instantly.

Once the Overlord was dead, and Ben's spikes stopped glowing, Tom knelt down beside Hal who was lying on his back, hand up at the corner of his mouth with blood on his fingers.

"Hal! Hal, are you okay?" Tom demanded to know, trying to move Hal's hand so he could see the injury.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Hal assured his Dad, keeping his hand on the small cut Ben had made on his upper lip.

"I'm sorry Hal, I'm so sorry. He got into my head, I didn't think he would do that. I'm so sorry." Ben apologized, coming to kneel beside his brother.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." Hal replied, as Ben and Tom helped him sit up.

"I take it if the Overlord felt the need to have Ben attack you, that you found something." Weaver deduced.

"Yeah. Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C. I think that's where the Queen is, or will be." Hal informed the group, his voice muffled by his hand still by his mouth to keep the blood from getting everywhere.

"Anything else?" Tom asked.

"No. I was trying to look for anything about that power source, but that's when he made Ben tackle me." Hal lied, trying his hardest to be convincing. The fighters bought it, though Ben was giving Hal a look that he knew meant his younger brother would be confronting him about something later.

"It's okay. The Queen is the most important thing to worry about anyways. I'll contact Cochise and see if he can check it out. But are you sure you're okay?" Tom wondered.

"Yeah, it's just a cut. I'll be fine." Hal didn't wait for a response. He immediately pushed himself to his feet and started heading back up to the main part of the building. Away from his Dad, his brother, Weaver, Anthony, and the dead Overlord, who had been there when Hal was captured, tortured, and experimented on by Karen.


	20. Where Demons Hide

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing. If I did, we'd be waiting for season 7 right now.

 **AN** – Warning, this chapter has a lot of talking, cause guess what? I'm finally going to let you know what Hal went through when he was taken by Karen! I know, I sure took my time in telling you guys.

 **WARNING:** This chapter does deal with a lot of emotions, and some self harm. It is barely touched upon, and I don't think it's that bad, but if it is not something that you are comfortable reading, I recommend you skip this chapter. This is also the first time I've ever written a story with something like this, so sorry if it's really bad. The song used is Demons by Imagine Dragons. Other than that, please review and

 **Enjoy!**

 _When the days are cold, and the cards all fold, and the saints we see are all made of gold_

Ben tried to keep his pace at a walk as he searched for his older brother, though it was hard. When Hal had left the basement, his Dad told him that it was okay, that Hal knew it wasn't his fault and he could talk to him later. Now it was later, and Hal was being as elusive as ever. He did however, easily find Maggie who was walking down the hall with Lourdes.

"Maggie, have you seen Hal?" Ben questioned, coming to stand in front of her.

"No, not since this morning. Why? What happened?" Maggie grew worried as she saw the concerned look on Ben's face.

"It's a long story. Do you have any idea where he might be?" Ben asked.

"Maybe the roof? He likes to go up there when he wants to be alone." Maggie suggested. Ben nodded and left the two women without another word. Finding his brother was the only thing on his mind at the moment, and will continue to be until he gets the answers he had been wanting since Hal was rescued from Karen over two months ago.

When the Overlord connected with him, and made him attack his brother, Ben got an glimpse of a memory. That Overlord knew something, saw something that happened to Hal, and he wasn't going to let his pig-headed brother push him away anymore. He had to know what happened to his brother.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you, but with the beast inside, there's no where we can hide_

Hal sat alone on the roof, his back against the cement railing. The pain in his jaw had subsided, though his lip still throbbed a little. The images he had seen in the Overlord's mind stayed in his head, replaying over and over. He was still confused as to what it all meant.

"Hey." Hal looked up and saw Ben coming outside onto the roof, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey." The older replied. The younger brother frowned at the quietness of Hal's voice. He walked over to Hal and sat down beside his big brother.

"You okay?" Ben asked when Hal didn't say anything.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hal answered, though the blonde could easily tell he wasn't. He didn't even try to sound convincing.

"You sure don't look it." Ben stated. Hal ignored his brother's comment and asked a question of his own.

"How did you know I was up here?"

"Maggie. She said you had been coming up here. After what happened with the Overlord, I figured this is where you'd be." Ben told him. A nod was the only acknowledgement that Hal gave him.

Ben waited for Hal to say something, to do something, but he didn't. Hal seemed to act as though he wasn't there. The man was quiet, and very closed off. So, Ben tried to get his stubborn brother to open up.

"When the Overlord got into my head, and made me attack you, I saw something. It was a memory of his, and you were in it. He was there, wasn't he? During those 5 months? Hal, what happened?" Hal's only answer was a loud sigh, and the turning of his head to face the opposite direction. Again, Ben waited for Hal to say something, and again he was met with only silence.

It was times like these that Ben really wished his Mom was alive. She was the only one who could get through to Hal, get him to talk about what he was feeling. He was so much like her, that she knew exactly what to say or do to help him. You would think that their Dad would be able to do it, given that his son is exactly like his wife, but he hit the same wall everyone else did.

Hal had shown time and time again how strong he was. Ever since the invasion, Ben had only seen his brother break down once, the night before Anne found out what was wrong with him, the night he killed all those skitters. But even after that, Hal was quick to put his walls back up and assure everyone that he was okay. It was obvious he wasn't, and Ben knew that Hal was only vulnerable when he felt comfortable and safe enough to be, or he literally couldn't be strong anymore. So, Ben tried a different approach.

"You know, I still remember the day I was caught by the skitters. I tried so hard to forget, but I can't. I remember hearing them approach Nick's house, where I was hiding. I ran out to the backyard, through the fence. But when I went to cross the street, there was a skitter blocking my way. I turned to run the other direction, but there was another one waiting for me. They grabbed me, and I tried to get free, but they were too strong. Then a Mech showed up and stunned me.

"I woke up in a dark room with my hands zip tied behind my back. I wasn't alone, there were at least 10 other kids in the room. Every couple of minutes, the door opened, a skitter came in, pulled a kid out, and left. We were all too scared to say anything, the only noise was the sound of the kids whimpering. I remember hoping that the door would open and Dad would be there and would save me. But the next time the door opened, it was the skitter, and it was my turn.

"It dragged me down to another room. It pushed me down onto a table on my stomach. Strapped down my legs so when they untied my hands, I couldn't get away. Then, they tied my hands down to the table. I could hear the harness slide down the chute and land on my back. After that, I couldn't think much about anything. Felt like I was a zombie. I know it's not anywhere near what you went through, but I do know some of it." Ben explained.

Ben hoped that if he told Hal his own story, it would help him feel relaxed enough to tell him what happened. Yet, Hal stayed quiet, and didn't look at him. All Ben could do now, was wait, and hope that his brother would finally open up.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _When you feel my heat, look into my eyes, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide_

Of all things Hal expected his younger brother to say and do, telling him about how he was captured and harnessed didn't make the list. He couldn't deny that after Ben had been rescued, he had been tempted to ask what all happened, but he didn't because he wasn't sure if he could stand listening to what his younger brother went through.

The entire time Ben was talking, Hal kept his gaze in the other direction, not just because he didn't want to see the look on the younger man's face. He also didn't want Ben to see the tear that had slipped from his eye, and traveled down his cheek.

While Hal was glad that Ben hadn't gone through anything close to what he did and knew it could've been a lot worse, he still hated that it happened at all. Hated that his brother was taken and harnessed, hated that neither he or his Dad were able to save him, and hated that he failed in keeping his promise to his mother. He didn't look out for his brother.

Hal knew what Ben was trying to do. He was trying to find a way to relate their experiences, trying to find a common ground where they could meet on even terms. He wanted Hal to open up, to confide in him, just like he did. And Hal slowly found himself wanting to tell his younger brother. He wanted someone to talk to, someone who might understand, even if it was just a little. So he did.

"After I boarded the ship, and after it took off, Karen led me to a room where there was a window. I could see our planet. She told me that we were going to lose the war, that the Espheni will kill us all, unless we surrendered to them. She wanted me to help her convince people that we could all live together 'peacefully'. I told her she was out of her mind. That was the first time she drugged me. Stabbed the needle right in my neck." Hal started. He didn't turn his head to let Ben look at his face. He kept his eyes on the horizon, using it as a focal point, and he continued.

"The drug, I don't know what it was, but it made me hallucinate. I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. It was like, I was seeing all the battles that we fought with the skitters, mixed in with a voice in my head telling me that we started it. That humans are the reason the Espheni attacked.

"Once the drug wore off, I was in a different room. Karen was there, and asked me again if I'd help her. I told her there wasn't anything she could do or say to make me help her. She said don't worry, that I'll change my mind soon enough. Then two skitters came upon behind me, and grabbed my arms. They pulled me back until I fell back onto that metal table. They tied me down with ropes, and I tried to escape, but they were too strong. And I was still feeling the effects of the drug.

"When I was tied down, Karen came over to me and told me not to move. Before I could ask her what she was talking about, a harnessed boy showed up, holding a scalpel. I begged her not to, though I didn't know what exactly they were going to do. Karen just put her hands on my head and turned it so the harnessed kid could, so he had access to the back of my head. And he made the cut. And it hurt, hurt like h*ll."

Hal stopped there for a moment, feeling his eyes start to become wet, and waited until he could collect himself. He didn't want his voice to start breaking, didn't want Ben to realize he was struggling not to cry.

Even though Hal still wasn't looking at him, Ben kept his eyes on his older brother. If he looked closely, he could see the scar on the back of his brother's head. And he knew that Hal was trying to hold himself together. He could see the signs. Keeping his face hidden, stopping suddenly, giving periods of silence, yet Ben didn't say anything. He just waited for Hal to continue.

"After the kid made the cut, I felt a pinprick in my shoulder. Karen was still holding my head still, so couldn't see what they were doing, but I knew it was a drug. Everything started going hazy. I couldn't feel the pain from the cut anymore, I could barely feel the table under me. Then, Karen's face changed to Anne's, then back to her. It was like I couldn't think clearly. Then I passed out.

"I woke up after, I don't know how long. I could feel a bandage on my head, and I was so sore. My head was pounding. Karen was standing on the other side of the room, with an Overlord. Apparently, the same Overlord that Dad just killed. He didn't look too happy with Karen. When she saw I was awake, she came over to me, gave me some water, and told me to rest. I asked her what she did to me. All she said was that I would see soon enough, but that she needed me to cooperate with her. I told her to go to h*ll. She drugged me again after that.

"Next time I woke up, I was in a different room. I was on the ground, and not restrained at all. I didn't know what was going on. There was a bottle of water a few feet away. I grabbed it and drank it all in one gulp. I waited for something to happen, for someone to come into the room, but no one did. It was when I started to fall asleep, that I heard this voice, in my head. It was asking me if all the Volm were coming, if they were going to work with us, and if I knew what their next move was. I stood up, and looked around for a source of the voice, if there was an intercom or something. But there wasn't."

"They were connecting to your mind?" Ben interrupted, unable to understand that if Hal could remember them doing that, why he was so surprised and slow to believe when they told him that was exactly what he was doing with the skitters.

"I, I guess so. I was so tired, and I thought it was just in my head, like I was still feeling the effects of the drug. So, I just ignored it. Then, I don't what exactly happened. All I do remember is that my headache got worse, worse than a migraine. I ended up lying on the ground with my eyes closed because the light made it worse. Then, I fell asleep. I had this weird dream, I can't remember what it was about, it was too long ago, but I do remember having the feeling like, the Overlords, truly think that we deserve what they're doing to us. We deserve to die.

"After I woke up, a skitter came into the room, and, and I was just done lying around. I waited till it was a few feet away from the door before I punched it the face and ran out of the room. As I started running through the building, I realized I wasn't in the spaceship anymore. I had no clue where I was, or when they even took me off the ship. Then, Karen found me. She started talking about how I wouldn't be able to find my way back, that she was trying to help me, that I needed to trust her. I let her get close, just enough to grab her and push her back against the wall hard enough that she fell to the ground when I let go. That was when the Overlord showed up.

"I tried to run past him, but a knife shot out of its hand and cut my side. Not deep, but it was enough to slow me down. It came at me again, and managed to cut me twice. That was when I fell to the ground. The Overlord stood over me, bent down, and pushed the knife against my ribs, like he wanted to cut me open, or something. Then, he stopped and looked over to the side, and I passed out.

"Every single time I woke up after that, I was lying tied down on the table. Guess they didn't trust me to be walking around anymore. I never saw the Overlord again, until today, I guess." Hal stopped again, remembering what happened the rest of his time there. He didn't want to talk about this part, he couldn't, not yet anyways.

Ben kept his eyes on his brother, and remembered seeing all the blood that he was covered in when Cochise found him. Now he knew how he got the cuts on his stomach and ribs, and he wished the Overlord was still alive just so he could kill it himself for hurting his brother. But Ben stayed still, waiting for Hal to finish.

The silent period stretched longer than any other period earlier and Ben had a feeling whatever happened next was worse than whatever happened before. It was then he realized that Hal said he remembered the skitters making the incision on his head four times. Hal only talked about the first time. Slowly, and quietly so he wouldn't startle Hal, Ben reached over and grabbed his brother's hand, trying to offer him some form of comfort.

It was that action that finally made Hal turn his head to look at him. Ben saw how his brother's eyes were red with unshed tears, and could barely make out the faint tear stains on his cheeks. He gave Hal an small, comforting, smile, and squeezed his hand. Hal squeezed back, then turned to look straight ahead.

"They kept drugging me. I guess they were tired of me fighting them. Though, I still remember them cutting that injury open over and over again." Hal said.

"Did those drugs cause you to hallucinate too?" Ben asked, seeing his brother's hesitation to go into more detail.

"Yeah." Hal replied, staring at the horizon with such intensity, trying to keep the memories at bay.

"Hal, what happened?" Ben pushed. Hal looked down at his lap, and his breathing deepened.

"None of this, leaves this roof. You understand me?" Hal practically ordered, turning his gaze to his brother. Ben saw the tension in brother's neck, and the pain his brown eyes. Unblinking, Ben nodded, and Hal turned his head again, and continued.

"The first hallucination, made me think that the invasion never happened. That it was all a dream. We were still living in Boston, and, Mom was still alive. I wanted to believe it so badly, but, it was all too weird. One of the things that gave it away was, everyone kept saying 'trust me' which was exactly what Karen kept telling me when I was awake. Then, I accidentally tripped over Matt's bike. I hit my leg on it pretty hard, and for a split second, I saw a skitter, in the bushes.

"I then kicked the bike as hard as I could, and the skitter appeared again. That was when I woke up. There was a skitter, standing over me, and an IV in my hand. Then Karen came over again, turned my head so I couldn't see what they were doing, and I felt the knife cut into me for the second time. I think they had the drugs in the IV, because I don't remember seeing or feeling a needle. That time, I thought I saw Dad, and you, and Maggie. You guys rescued me, and took me back to Charleston.

"I knew it was fake when I banged my arm against the hospital bed railing, and saw Karen, in the corner of the room. It was then I realized that, while I could still feel, that whatever I did hurt, it, it grounded me, somehow. The pain revealed if it was real or another hallucination. When I woke up from that, they made the cut the third time. I think, that, if Karen could already get in my head at that point, she was controlling whatever I hallucinated.

"After that, all the hallucinations stayed the same. That I was rescued, and you were all telling me to trust you, and at times, you guys would actually defend Karen's actions. Those were pretty big giveaways. But, the best way to find out, was to, to feel pain. So, I did whatever I could to hurt myself, just to see if it was real or not. It didn't take Karen long to figure out what I was doing, and she tried to manipulate the hallucination, so that I couldn't. In one of them, Anne strapped me down to the hospital bed so that I wouldn't hurt myself.

"Then finally, I woke up again, and that was when the harnessed kid, made the cut the fourth time. Before they could drug me again though, the alarm started going off. The kid, and the skitters that were there ran out of the room. The kid dropped the scalpel on the table, and I used it to cut the ropes. Once I got free, that was when I saw the power source. Then the building exploded and suddenly, I was running through the trees. I passed out and you know the rest." Hal finally finished the story.

Ben stared at his brother in shock. His big brother, the strongest person he knows, was constantly being fed a lie, had felt hope, only to have it taken away, over and over again. Not only that, he had resorted to self harm to find out if it was real or not.

"Hal, did you, ever hurt yourself while you were here?" Ben asked when he collected himself. Hal turned his head, tears now running down his cheeks, and Ben had his answer. He felt his own eyes fill with tears.

"It was the only way I could prove that this was real. It wasn't for very long, only the first two weeks." Hal tried to defend himself, but he knew from Ben's face that it was too late. His brother couldn't be convinced that he was okay with everything that happened to him. To be honest, he couldn't even convince himself anymore and he turned away, not wanting to see the pain he had just caused his little brother.

"Hal, I." Ben stopped, because he didn't know what to say, and tears started slipping from his eyes. He heard a choked sob, and looked up to see Hal fully break down in tears. He didn't hesitate to grab his older brother and wrap him in his embrace. He felt Hal weakly grab his jacket while his shoulder became wet with tears.

"Don't ever, hurt yourself again. This is real, I promise you. What happened there is over. You are safe now." Ben told him. He felt Hal's head nod against his shoulder, but was too lost in his breakdown to say anything.

After about twenty minutes, Hal pulled away from his brother. He had stopped crying not long ago, but didn't say anything. He brought his hands up and rubbed his face, pushing away the leftover tears.

"You okay?" Ben knew it was a stupid question to ask, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just remember, what happens on this roof, stays on this roof." Hal reminded the blonde. Ben nodded, and watched as Hal stood up.

"I'm starving. Want to go and see if it's supper yet?" Hal wondered, and Ben knew that his brother was already putting his walls back up. A part of him still wanted to talk about what just happened, but he knew he pushed as far as he possibly could, and Hal would only get defensive if he went any farther.

"Yeah, I could eat." Ben said, pushing himself up, and by his brother's side, the left the roof and headed down to the cafeteria.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _Your eyes, they shine so bright, I wanna save that light, I can't escape this now, unless you show me how_

Hal didn't expect it to be so easy to slip away from the crowds. Even though it had been months since he had returned to Charleston, there were some people who still didn't trust him. In the beginning, Pope or one of his Berserkers, had actually followed him a couple of times, just to make sure he wasn't going to contact Karen or another Overlord and betray them.

This time though, he got lucky. Ben seemed to want to keep an eye on him, but also understood that he needed his space, which wasn't surprising considering the huge talk/breakdown that he had in front of his younger brother. He was so embarrassed about it now that the moment was over. He was the oldest, he shouldn't have unloaded his emotions on his brother like that.

Hal knew that he would have to be careful around Ben now. With him now knowing what all happened while he was held captive, and what he went through, the younger man was no doubt going to be watching him like a hawk. Ben may be subtler about it, but he was just as protective as Hal was of the people he cared about.

On the other hand, that talk did actually help. It felt so good to finally tell someone what was going on, and to not feel like he had to hide it. And it did reveal something else. Apparently, Ben had not caught the lie he told when his Dad asked if he found anything about the power crystal. He didn't have to worry about anyone suspecting what he was thinking, though, soon there will be one person he might have to worry about.

If he could truly sense the power source, and did have a stronger connection to it, then he would be the best person to find and destroy it.

"Oh, Hal, what are you doing here?" Dr. Kadar asked bluntly when he saw that the young man had entered his lab.

"I wanted to ask your opinion on something. It's about power sources." Hal told him.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" Kadar wondered.

"Well, obviously, power source gives off power, but, can you give power to a power source?" Hal asked.

"Depending on the source, sure. Like, if it runs out of power, you could give it more power to fill it up again. It could be as simple as charging a computer. With others though, it depends on the power, or energy they give off." Kadar said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, power sources give off either positive or negative energy. Now, if a positive and a negative meet, they should be fine because they're compatible. They balance each other out. If a positive and positive meet, it could become too much and they would destroy each other, most likely in the form of an explosion, same thing happens with negative energy." Kadar explained.

 _It gives but cannot receive_ the Overlord's voice replayed in Hal's head. Then he asked another question.

"So, if an all powerful energy source, gives something energy, and if that something tries to return it, it would cause an instant explosion." Hal tried to understand.

"Well, it depends on how much energy is in it. The more of that same power, or energy the thing has, the more chance of an explosion. More power, more instability, faster the explosion occurs. Which would destroy both. Why are you asking me this?" Kadar questioned.

"No reason, it was just something I heard about from Cochise and it was stuck in my head." Hal tried to brush off. He knew if Kadar realized he was talking about the Espheni power source, and a possible way to destroy it, he would tell his Dad and his plan wouldn't work.

"Well, it's an interesting topic, especially with trying to find ways to destroy the Espheni power source, but, maybe just leave that up to me, and Cochise." Kadar suggested. Hal instantly caught what Kadar meant, _let the experts handle it_. The doctor may be a genius to science and math, but he sucked at reading into conversations. He didn't get what Hal was hinting at.

Hal nodded and left the room with the answers he needed. If the power crystal couldn't receive its own power, then all it would need was something that was given its energy to touch it, or someone. That had to have been why the Espheni kept the stone in a box, and why they used wires to connect the power source to their machinery. It was to keep the stone from being destroyed. And, that's how the Volm managed to break it, they used a piece of Espheni technology powered by the crystal. But to destroy it completely, it would take something with a lot of its power. Or, someone.

Just one touch, and he could destroy it, rendering the Espheni technology useless. Now the hard part, getting the mission to take care of the destroying the power source, and not letting anyone else know how he was planning to do it, and not knowing the possible cost of his plan.

 _Don't get too close, it's dark inside, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide_

 **AN** – Long chapter, I know. I hope you guys enjoyed it, but know this is the first time I've ever written something with a problem like self harm, so I hope it wasn't to bad and I'm really sorry if it was. Don't worry, next chapter won't be as heavy, it will be a little shorter and should be up within the week. See you guys soon.


	21. Way Down We Go

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

"It appears your intel was correct Professor. We have seen a great Espheni spaceship land in the city you call Washington, and there is a great deal of Overlords and skitters present, as though they are guarding something of importance." Cochise informed Tom as they walked into the board room. Weaver, Hal, Ben, and Maggie were already there, sitting at the table.

"Well, it was Hal actually who got the information, but it's good to know it was accurate. So, the Queen has already landed then?" Tom deduced, sitting down in the chair at the head of the table.

"That is our assumption. We are trying to learn more, but this might now be an area where the, rebel skitters might have better success." Cochise suggested, moving to stand by the table instead of sitting down.

"Ben, do you think the rebel skitters can find that out?" Tom asked, looking over at his middle son. When he nodded, Tom turned back to Cochise.

"And what about the power source? Any sign of it." Hal couldn't help but tense up a little when his Dad asked that question. Ever since he asked Kadar about the power source two days ago, it was constantly on his mind.

Hal tried to cover his reaction by sitting up straighter in his chair, but saw that Ben was staring at him. He had been watching him like a hawk every time they crossed paths in the last couple of days, ever since Hal told him what happened. Just like he knew the younger would. Hal mentally shrugged it off, and turned to look back at his father and the alien.

"We have reports of something in a metal box being transported to Washington D.C. with four Overlords, and with great care." Cochise replied.

"You think they're keeping their power source at Lincoln Memorial too?" Maggie questioned.

"It would make it easier for them. Keep everything important and of most value in one place makes it easier to protect. Smaller space, all their forces in one spot and not all spread out." Weaver answered.

"But doesn't that also make it easier for us? If they are together, we can kill two birds with one stone." Hal pointed out.

"True, but that area is going to be way more guarded than any base or tower that we've ever hit. It's going to be nearly impossible to get in there." Weaver countered.

"That is correct Colonel Weaver. Many Overlords have been spotted in the area. Over 30 to be precise." Cochise interjected. Everyone in the room sat in silent shock at the thought of 30 Overlords in one place.

"How many Overlords are there completely? As in, the entire Espheni population?" Tom asked.

"Around 200, last we checked."

"So, even if we kill this Queen, and destroy this energy source or whatever it is, we still have to take care of the remaining Overlords." Maggie stated.

"Unfortunately yes. But without their leader, their technology, and the majority of the skitters, they should be very easy to take care of." Cochise assured them.

"But neither Hal nor I will be able to talk to the rebel skitters with the power source destroyed. Or any of the other de-harnessed kids. How will we communicate with them?" Ben realized. The room again went silent, until Tom spoke.

"We know from earlier attempts of trying to communicate that they let out a sort of, frequency. Our radio picked it up. Maybe Kadar can rig something, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The most important thing to worry right now, is getting to Washington, and finishing this war. Killing the Queen shouldn't be too hard, as far as we know, she dies just as easily as skitters. Problem is, Kadar still hasn't figured out a way to destroy the power source."

"Maybe we should take him along. If he can see it, it'll probably be easier for him to figure out." Ben suggested.

"He's so not going to like that." Hal commented, hoping to dissuade the idea of the scientist coming with them. If Kadar realizes what he is planning on doing, how to actually destroy the power source, then everyone will try and stop him. That is the last thing he needs.

"Still, it might be the best chance we have. I'll talk to him about it." Tom agreed with his middle son, while Hal tried not to show how nervous he was getting.

"Alright, then who is going to destroy it?" Weaver asked.

"I will." Everyone turned to stare at Hal when he volunteered. When he saw their faces, he was quick to start explaining.

"Like you said Dad, what Cochise told you. I have a stronger connection to it because of the explosion, which means I'll be able to find it easier. And if there are any guards around, I could get inside their heads and see if I can find the way to destroy it."

"It does make the most sense Tom Mason. He would be the most qualified person to do so." Cochise sided with the oldest brother.

"And I'll go with him." Ben immediately captured Hal's attention with that statement, "My spikes also gives me a connection with it, as does Deni's. We can go with Hal, watch his back, and Kadar's if we do get him to come with us."

Ben risked a glimpse at his older brother and instantly caught the disapproval on his face. Though, with a longer glance, he thought he saw fear, and anger in Hal's eyes. But why?

"I don't know Ben." The blonde turned back to look at his father when he started speaking, "We are going to be taking out the Queen at the same time. We might need all of you guys there."

"But if we destroy the power source first, it'll make it that much easier to get to the Queen. They won't have any of their beamers or Mechs, and might lose some of their skitters too." Hal replied.

"I again, agree with your son." Cochise chimed in. Tom looked at his sons, then over at Weaver. The Colonel nodded, telling Tom that he agreed with them as well.

"Alright. But first, let's make sure we can actually execute this plan. Then we can go for lunch." Tom decided, and they started planning the attack.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Hey Benji." Deni said as Ben came over to her. She had been waiting for him to finish eating so they could go to the rebel skitters camp together to tell the leader about what they were planning.

"How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling me that?" Ben asked, though gave the girl a smile.

"Tell me as many times as you want, still not going to listen to you." Deni replied with a chuckle. Ben's smile grew and he shook his head. He knew that would be her answer. They then started walking towards the camp.

"So, we have to meet up with the rebel skitters?"

"Yup. Dad, Weaver, and Cochise are starting to plan another attack, they want to see if the rebels can confirm that the Espheni Queen and power crystal are both at Lincoln Memorial." Ben answered, then started explaining what was decided on during the meeting.

Deni nodded, then looked over at the other teenager. He looked a little tired, but mostly, worried and confused. She didn't want to pry, but she was curious as to what was going on with him.

"You okay?" Deni wondered. Ben tensed up a little, yet nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Hey, it's me. What's going on?" Deni repeated her question.

"It's Hal. I'm worried about him." Ben told her. When Deni didn't say anything, he looked over at her and saw the look that told him she wanted him to continue. So he did.

"Yesterday, he told me what happened during the five months Karen had him. I think he is doing better, but he's been though too much, it's changed him. He's more withdrawn and determined to end this war."

"Sounds to me like he's still trying to process everything that happened and come to terms with it. I know it's been two months, but he was gone for five. Odds are, he's going to need at least that long to fully recover. And as to wanting to end the war, news flash, we all want that. I may not know Hal very well, but I know that he would do anything to protect his family, and anyone else he can. Maybe, going through that trauma just, added more fuel to that fire. He doesn't want anyone else to go through what he did." Deni replied.

"Maybe. But, I still feel like he's hiding something." Ben revealed.

"Like what?" Deni questioned.

"I don't know. He's just, is trying too hard to act normal. And he started acting weird during the meeting when Dad brought up the power source. Then, he volunteered for the most dangerous part of the attack. I mean, it makes sense because of what he can do now, but I could tell from the look on his face that if Dad had said no, he would've fought him on it." Ben explained.

"Well, like I said, Hal is really protective. He probably doesn't want to risk anyone getting hurt doing something that he could do, especially if he has a better chance at succeeding." Deni reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess." Ben said, though he wasn't really comforted. He couldn't describe what it was, or how he could tell, but he knew something else was going on. Hal was hiding something. Suddenly, Ben felt Deni slip her hand into his. He looked over at her and saw her giving him a small smile.

"It'll be okay. Besides, we'll be with him the entire time. Worrying isn't going to get you anywhere." Ben nodded, and squeezed her hand, turning his gaze back to the ground. When he first met Deni, he thought she was weird, but he soon found himself grateful for her friendship. She was someone who could relate to him, someone who understood a lot of he went through.

"Hey." Deni's voice broke Ben out of his reverie. He looked back up at her and saw a mischievous smirk grace her lips.

"Race ya!" Deni exclaimed, and took off running. Ben smiled and chased after her.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"You were pretty quick to volunteer for that job." Maggie finally said. She had been silent ever since the meeting ended and all though lunch. Hal didn't look at her, but did squeeze her hand as they continued walking down the hall way.

"It makes the most sense is all. Besides, I didn't want to give my Dad the opportunity to stick me on the sidelines during this fight." Hal explained.

"Is staying on the sidelines so bad?" Maggie asked. At that, Hal turned his head to look at the woman beside him.

"Do you actually have to ask that? Anne told me about how you were benched while I was gone. And it's not like I'm going alone. Ben and Deni will be with me." Hal pointed out. Their presence will make completing his plan more complicated though.

"Fair enough, but-" Maggie suddenly stopped, and lifted her free hand up to her mouth as her stomach turned violently.

"You okay?" Hal asked, concern filling his voice. When he felt Maggie stop, as she was still holding his hand, he turned and saw her hand by her mouth, like she was trying not to throw up. He moved to stand in front of her, placing his other hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. My lunch just didn't agree with me. I'm fine." Maggie assured him.

"Maybe we should get you to bed. Don't want you to get sick." Hal suggested. He expected Maggie to insist that she's fine, that she doesn't get sick, but she didn't.

"Yeah, I'm actually feeling kind of tired." Maggie revealed. Hal tried to hide his worry and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, gently leading her to their room.

A few minutes later, they were lying down on their bed together, Maggie pressed up against Hal, her head on his chest, while his arms encircled her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hal couldn't help but ask as he looked down at her beautiful face.

"I'll be fine. Just, lie here with me?" Hal gently grabbed her hand which was lying loosely over his stomach, lifted it up to his lips, giving it a light kiss before answering.

"Anytime."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Weaver walked down the hall away from the offices. After a long day of planning the future attack, checking the inventory to make sure they had enough weapons, and getting two groups out to scavenge for more ammo, he was exhausted.

As he was heading past Tom's office, he noticed that the light was still on. He looked down at his watch, and saw it was almost midnight. After a moment of hesitation, he knocked on the door, though he didn't wait for an answer before he opened the door to see Tom sitting at his desk, empty cup beside him, and a map of Washington sprayed out on the desk.

"Tom? You okay?" Weaver asked, as Tom looked up at him.

"I know it makes the most sense, but I don't like this plan, I don't like the idea of sending both Hal and Ben out into the most danger." Tom replied. Weaver nodded, coming over to sit down in one of the chairs in front of him.

"Believe me Tom, I understand, you know I do. But, they have the best chance, they're our strongest fighters. And we'll be with them as long as we can. Not to mention, once Kadar gets a better look at the crystal, it won't take him long to figure out how to destroy it." Weaver tried to assure his friend.

Tom nodded, but didn't say anything. He just continued staring at the Washington map on his desk with a worried frown.

"I'm worried about Hal. I just, I feel like he's hiding something, that he's still struggling with everything. I'm worried that he's not going to be able to do all this." Tom confided, gesturing at the map.

"Despite the fact that Hal ended up in the infirmary after New York, he still managed to kill Karen, and he was okay. He can do this too. He's strong and he'll do whatever it takes to get the job done." Weaver reminded him.

"Just like his mother." Tom commented.

"A lot like you." Weaver replied. Tom looked up at his friend with a surprised, yet thoughtful look on his face.

"It's late. You should get some sleep." Weaver said as he stood up and made his way to the door. Tom took one last look at the map, before folding it back up, and started for his room to get a few hours of shut eye.


	22. No Other Way

**Disclaimer** – Own nothing.

 **AN** – So, unfortunately I have finals coming up in the next week, so warning you the next update might be a little late. Sorry. But please review and

 **Enjoy!**

Even though they lessened the attacks on the Espheni in order to plan for the attack on Washington, it was still almost two weeks before the 2nd Mass was ready for it. On the morning of the day they were heading out, Hal and Maggie were lying in their bed, trying to get as much rest as possible before they had to get ready to leave.

"Hal, are you awake?" Hal heard Maggie ask. He had been awake for a few minutes, but was so comfortable on the bed with Maggie in his arms, that he didn't want to ruin it. He was tempted to keep pretending to sleep, but she sounded worried, so he nodded.

"Are you nervous about this attack?" Maggie wondered, turning around in his arms so she could look at his face. Hal opened his eyes, staring into hers.

"Not really. Why?" Hal asked.

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling." Maggie told him, looking away from his face.

Hal said nothing for a moment, taking in the worried and confused look on the woman's face before asking, "Is your stomach still bugging you?"

Over the last two weeks, Maggie had thrown up several times. He kept telling her she should go see Anne or Lourdes, but apparently there was a stomach flu that had been going around and she didn't want to bug them with something as trivial as that.

"A little, but it's not that."

"Maybe you should go see Anne, or, stay behind on this one. If you're still feeling sick,"

"No, I'm fine. It's nothing, just forget I said anything." Maggie interrupted him as she pushed herself off the bed and started getting ready for the long day ahead. Hal sat up and watched her.

"Yes, I am nervous about this attack, but we have to do this. It's our best shot at finishing this war once and for all." Hal told her. Maggie stopped what she was doing and turned back to face him, giving him a clear view of the worry and fear in her eyes. Slowly, she came back over to the bed and sat down.

"Just, just promise me you'll be careful?" Maggie pleaded. Even though he had gone on five patrols, and two attack missions in the last two weeks, Hal knew that she was still worried about him. What happened in New York, and just everything that had happened ever since he left with Karen had scared her. He couldn't blame her for still being worried about him, especially considering what he was planning.

Hal brought his hand up to cheek, cupping her face gently. She leaned her head against his palm while his thumb stroked her smooth cheek.

"I promise, I'll be careful." _As careful as I can be anyway,_ Hal added silently to himself. Maggie nodded, but didn't meet his eyes. Hal moved his hand and placed it on the back of her head, and pulled her closer to him. He gave her a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling away. She opened her eyes and met his intense stare.

"Good." Maggie replied, looking down at her lap.

"Hey," Hal got her attention once more, "I love you."

Maggie smiled and said, "I love you too."

After sharing another quick kiss, the couple got out of bed and started preparing for the day ahead of them.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Are you sure you want to come with us Anne?" Tom checked for the tenth time that morning as he watched her pack, much to the doctor's annoyance.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's going to be a major battle and you guys will need a doctor on scene. True, I won't be able to perform surgeries or anything like that, but I can do my best to keep as many people as I can alive." Anne informed him. Tom got up from his seat and went over to the woman as she turned around to face him.

"It's just, it's going to be dangerous. And, if anything were to happen to us, I don't like the idea of leaving Lexi alone here in Charleston." Tom told her.

"Lourdes will take care of her. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be on the front lines. And considering your reputation, I'd be surprised if you don't somehow find your way back to us." Anne responded with a slight smirk on her lips, hoping to ease the President's mind. Tom nodded, but the worried expression didn't leave his face.

"Everything will be okay, alright?" Anne tried to assure him. When Tom didn't say anything, she gave him a quick kiss, then went back to packing her stuff.

"Okay. I gotta go meet up with Weaver. See you in the garage in a few minutes?" Tom questioned, heading to the door.

"Got to make a stop at the infirmary to get make sure we have enough medical supplies, but I'll be there soon."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Deni tossed Ben a bag filled with semi-automatics and he placed it in the back of the jeep. They worked together in silence which made Deni start to worry about the other teenager. While he was the quieter one of the Mason brothers, he usually was never this quiet.

"Okay, spill it Benji." Ben's head shot up in surprise. He had been so lost in his thoughts and packing the vehicle he'd almost forgotten that Deni was there.

"Spill what?" Ben asked.

"You know what. You've barely said a word the entire morning. What's wrong?" Deni demanded an answer.

"Hal. Over the last two weeks, it's like he's been avoiding me, and the closer we're getting to this mission, the weirder he's been acting." Ben replied.

"Well, it's a pretty important mission. He's probably just trying to hide how nervous he is." Deni suggested.

"Doesn't explain why he's avoiding me." Ben pointed out.

"No. He's probably doing that because he's embarrassed." That comment made the blonde stop what he was doing to look over at the other teenager in confusion.

"What does he have to be embarrassed about?"

"Ben, he told what happened during those five months. He let you see him at one of his most vulnerable moments. And for a guy like Hal, who hates being vulnerable, and is always trying to make everyone believe he's strong, it's kind of embarrassing to have those moments. Especially in front of a younger sibling." Deni explained, handing Ben another bag to put in the jeep.

"No one can handle everything on their own. And it's okay to need help every now and then. That's what friends and family is for." Ben argued, putting the bag in the back of the jeep with the others.

"Easy to say, hard to believe and do." Deni countered. Ben opened his mouth to continue arguing, but closed it when he couldn't think of anything to say. What Deni said did actually make sense.

Honestly, Ben couldn't remember seeing Hal cry, or break down before he told Ben what Karen all did to him, except of course when he had lost control and killed all those skitters. All he could remember was Hal either teasing him, or taking care of him. Whether that meant watching him and Matt while their parents were gone, beating up school bullies, or teaching him how to use a gun. Hal had always tried to be there for him. Never once did Ben really wonder who was there for Hal. And for Hal to actually accept that he needed help, or just someone to talk to, was a bigger deal than Ben realized.

"I take it from the look on your face that you realized that I'm right, as I always am?" Deni teased slightly. Ben smiled and shook his head.

"I still think there's something else going on though." Ben told her.

"Well, if you're that worried about him, why don't you try entering his mind and find out?" Deni suggested, handing Ben another bag.

"Because he would notice instantly, and I've already tried that." Ben confessed. Deni looked up at him in surprise. She didn't think that Ben was that seriously worried about his brother.

"And?" Deni pushed.

"And nothing. He was blocking me. He's been getting really good keeping everyone out of his mind. I thought it was because he knew that if he couldn't control it, Dad and Weaver wouldn't let him go on anymore missions, but, now I wonder if he was also working on it so that I couldn't get into his head, which makes me even more worried about him."

"Well, I got nothing. We'll keep an eye on him, and it won't take long for Kadar to figure out how to destroy the power source. It'll be fine, Hal's not an idiot Ben. He's not going to pull something on an attack this important. He knows how much we need to pull this mission off." Deni told him.

"That's the point. What if he goes too far?" Deni opened her mouth to respond, when another voice joined the conversation.

"You think something bad is going to happen to Hal?" Ben and Deni turned around to find Lexi staring at them, fear and worry evident on her face.

"Lexi, what are you doing here?" Ben asked, coming over to his little sister.

"I came to say goodbye, but I heard you two talking about Hal. Is something wrong with him?" Lexi asked. Ben got down on his knee so they were roughly the same height.

"No, nothing's wrong with Hal. I'm just being silly. Don't worry about it, okay?" Ben told her.

"Are you sure?" Lexi wondered, disbelief in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You be good while we're gone. Okay?" Ben said with a smile. When the little girl nodded, Ben reached over and gave her a hug which she immediately returned. Ben pulled away after a few minutes, but not giving his little sister a small kiss on top of her head. Lexi smiled at him and went off to find the rest of her family to say goodbye.

"You really think you're being silly?" Deni wondered as Lexi disappeared in the crowd that was forming.

"No, but she doesn't need to worry over something like this, and there isn't anything I can do about Hal right now." Ben answered, turning back to face his best friend.

"So what are you going to do?" Deni asked.

"I'm going to watch my brother like a hawk, and stop him from whatever stupid thing he's planning on doing."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"Hey buddy, what's up?" Hal asked as Matt came over to him and Maggie.

"Dad says I'm riding with you two." Matt revealed.

"Sweet, you can help us pack our truck then." Maggie told him. Matt let out a small groan, but let Maggie usher him towards the vehicle. Hal was about to join them when he heard a small child's voice in his head.

 _Hal?_

Hal turned around and saw Lexi, coming over towards him. He waited until she was standing right in front of him before reaching down and ruffled her hair a little.

"What's up sweetie?" Hal wondered.

"Is something bad going to happen?" Lexi asked bluntly, the way only a child could. Hal was taken back at the question, but quickly gave her a reassuring smile and bent down to her level.

"Of course not, what gave you an idea like that?"

"Ben. I heard him tell Deni he thinks you're hiding something, that he thinks something bad is going to happen." Lexi informed him. Hal internally groaned. Apparently, Ben had realized he was hiding something. He just hoped he hadn't figured out it was. Keeping it from Kadar was going to be hard enough since his Dad had somehow managed to get the doctor to agree to come on the mission, he was hoping he wouldn't have to worry about Ben too.

"Well, Ben's just being silly. Nothing bad is going to happen, not for us anyways. The Espheni on the other hand, they're going to get their butts kicked." Hal replied, giving his little sister a smirk. Lexi slowly smiled back.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Everything's going to be okay." Hal pulled the little girl into his arms and whispered, "Love you Lexi."

"I love you too." Lexi responded. After another few moments, Hal pulled away and Lexi moved to go see Matt, who she hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to yet. Maggie came over to Hal once Lexi was gone.

"What was that about?" Maggie questioned, having seen the interaction between the two siblings.

"She just came to say goodbye. She's also a little worried. I think she's realizing that this is an important attack we're launching, especially since Anne is coming with us too." Hal responded, purposely leaving out the exact details.

"Not surprising. She's very observant for someone her age. And it's not like anyone's been trying to hide how dangerous this mission's going to be." Maggie agreed. Hal wrapped his arm around Maggie's shoulders.

"Are you still sure you're up for this?" Hal couldn't help but ask again.

"I told you I'm fine. Why won't you listen to me?" Maggie asked, turning her head to face him.

"Like you said, this is a dangerous attack. I don't want you to risk it if you're not up for it." Hal explained.

"Trust me, I'm up for this." Maggie told him. Before he could respond, Maggie pressed her lips against his in a kiss. Hal moved his from her shoulder to her hair, cupping the back of her head as he returned the kiss.

"Please tell me you two aren't going to be doing that the entire time we're on the road." The couple broke apart at the sound of Matt's voice. They turned their heads to see the youngest Mason son standing by the truck with a disgusted yet slightly amused expression on his face.

"Of course we aren't. We're the ones driving. We'd crash if we did." Hal pointed out.

"Unless of course you want to drive so Hal and I don't have too." Maggie suggested.

"Could I really?" Matt asked, excited at the idea of driving a vehicle.

"Forget it buddy. Come on, get in." Hal told him, moving to usher his youngest brother into the truck.

As Maggie got in beside Matt, Hal closed the door and was about to head to the driver's side when he saw Lexi standing beside Lourdes, who was saying goodbye to Anne. Lexi seemed to be ignoring the two doctors, instead staring at him with concern.

Hal gave her another smile, and waved goodbye, which she returned. It was then that her mother got her attention, and Hal continued to the door on the other side of the truck. He got behind the wheel, and looked over Matt's head at Maggie and winked at her which made her let out a small chuckle. Suddenly, there was a loud honk from another vehicle, and the line of jeeps of trucks started moving.

"Here we go." Hal commented, and put the truck in drive and followed the convoy out of the garage towards their destination.


	23. The Last Stand

**Disclaimer** – Own nothing.

 **AN** – So this chapter is a little late, sorry about that, but I'm finally finished exams, which means the school year is officially OVER! However, I still will be slightly busy with packing and heading home and such, but I will try to make sure next update will be on time. Again Jubs, thank you so much for your review! I'm so happy you like the story and where it's going. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

 **Enjoy!**

 _There are no victories, there's only the battle. And the best that you could hope for is that you find some place where you can make your stand._ – **Captain Montgomery,** ** _Castle_**

Hal, Matt, and Maggie stared at the city ahead of them in stunned silence. Washington was still a few miles away, but they could still see it from their position. To Hal, it reminded him of one of the many dystopian movies he had watched with his friends back before the invasion, but to see it in real life was devastating. One glance at Maggie and Matt told Hal they felt the same way.

Seeing the vehicles ahead of him stop, Hal moved his foot from the gas to the brake. Once the truck stopped, Hal put the truck in park and climbed out. Hal quickly spotted his Dad with Weaver, Cochise, and Ben. He waited for Matt and Maggie to get out of the truck, then they went over to the leaders.

"Everyone here?" Tom asked Weaver. The Colonel looked over at the soldiers getting out of the vehicles, mentally counting them. He gave Tom a nod when he saw they were all there. The President then looked over at Cochise.

"Are the space ships ready?"

"Yes. They are in the trees less than half a mile from here waiting." Cochise answered.

"Okay, Pope, you and your Berserkers are going to go with two of Volm squadrons to this part of the city." Tom informed the criminal, pointing to a spot on the map, "Once we get this power source destroyed, we'll meet up and head straight for the Queen. Got it?"

"Don't worry Mason, we'll keep those aliens off your back, as long as you do your part." Pope answered, taking the safety off his gun. Tom ignored the comment Pope made and turned to his sons.

"Good. Hal, Ben, Deni, you guys good to go?" Tom asked.

"Yes sir." Ben answered.

"Okay, Kadar and Anthony are going with you guys. Butterfield, and Jefferson's group will be attacking the other end of the city with the other two Volm groups and their ships, leaving the rest of us to attack on the ground. Weaver, Matt, Maggie, Tector, Cochise, and I will try to help keep the Espheni's attention off of you. You guys have to get to this power source as quickly and discreetly as possible. Can you guys do that?" Tom made sure.

"Yeah, we can do that." Hal replied.

"Okay. Anne, you are going to stay with the rest of the Volm and their two remaining ships." Tom told the doctor, knowing that was the closest they could get her war zone so the injured could get to her faster, yet still be safe at the same time. Anne nodded.

"Alright, let's get moving."

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _If Kadar squeals one more time, I'll give him something to full on scream about_ , Hal thought to himself as he watched the doctor jump away from the bushes. The minute the group broke up from the rest of the soldiers, Kadar's lack of experience in the field and his fear of everything became obvious. He had tripped four times, once over his own feet, and had either shrieked or squealed three times when so much as a bush moved. Though, he did seem to do it as quietly as possible.

"Remind me to never do this again." Kadar requested, walking behind Hal and Ben, while Deni and Anthony came up behind the doctor.

"What? Squeal, or leave Charleston?" Hal asked for clarification with a smirk on his face that Kadar couldn't see.

"Leave Charleston." Kadar answered.

"Okay, but we'd also appreciate if you tried to be quieter." Anthony told him.

"And no one made you come." Hal pointed out, somewhat annoyed yet more nervous with the scientist's presence.

"Your father did actually." Kadar revealed.

"Whatever, you are here, and the louder we are, the more likely we are to be found. So, unless you do want skitters and Mechs to start firing at us, I suggest you be quiet." Hal responded. That got the doctor to finally shut up, though whenever Hal glanced back to make sure Deni, Anthony, and Kadar were still with them, he saw the look of annoyance on the older man's face.

Slowly, the group made its way farther into the city. It wasn't much longer until they all started hearing distance sound of guns and Mechs firing. Hal looked over at Ben, and saw that the teenager could hear it too. The other groups of the 2nd Mass had started their attacks.

"Everything appears to be going as planned." Kadar whispered, trying to keep himself calm. He hated guns, weapons, and violence of any kind.

"Yup, but let's not jinx it, shall we?" Deni whispered back. Ben and Hal were too focused on their surroundings to pay much attention to what the two were saying.

As they got farther into the city, Hal suddenly stopped in his tracks. The air seemed to be more thicker, and he felt as though there was a light breeze, but, not a breeze, hitting him in the chest.

"Hal?" Ben tried to get his brother's attention. Hal had just suddenly stopped and seemed to have completely blanked out. At first, he wondered if there were skitters or an Overlord nearby, but he couldn't sense any.

The black-haired man jumped when he heard his brother call out his name. He looked over at Ben in mild confusion.

"Do you feel that?" Hal asked. Ben shook his head, but then felt his spikes start to tingle. He focused on his connection to the Espheni, and felt a something like a thick wind hit his spikes.

"Yeah." Ben replied.

"What is that?" Deni questioned. When she saw Ben's spikes light up, she let her own spikes react to what was going on, and started feeling the same thing that Ben and Hal did.

"Is it the power source?" Ben wondered. Hal nodded, lowering his mental guard, and felt the strange breeze hitting him harder.

"I don't feel anything." Anthony chimed in, looking at the three of them in mild concern.

"We won't. We aren't connected to it like they are. They're feeling it the way a radio picks up radio waves. They're radios, we aren't, so we don't feel it." Kadar explained to the former police officer.

"Does that mean we're getting close?" Anthony wondered, looking over at Hal, who again, nodded.

"Over there." Hal pointed his rifle to the right.

They started heading down the direction in Hal led them in until they came across what looked like to be an abandoned office building that had at least five floors. There were skitters scurrying around, four Mega Mechs standing guard, and two Overlords walking around looking nervous. Everyone crouched down behind a line of bushes, their heads peaking out so they could see.

"I think we found it." Ben told his brother, seeing all the aliens who were guarding the building.

"Really, what gave it away?" Hal asked sarcastically and Ben pushed down the urge to get into a verbal fight with his brother.

"So, how do we get in?" Deni wondered, looking at all the Espheni.

"How about you guys distract the guards, I'll sneak inside with Kadar and destroy the power source?" Hal suggested.

"There could be more inside, and they could call for reinforcements. They know they're being attacked, they would draw closer to whatever they want to keep protected. This power source would definitely be something they would keep safe at all costs." Ben pointed out.

"You got a better plan?" Hal questioned, but Ben didn't have a chance to answer because at that moment, Kadar moved his knee onto a stick that snapped loudly. Everyone ducked out of sight, but it was too late. They could all hear the skitters and Mechs making their way towards them. They all turned to leave, but there were already two skitters in the way, watching them.

"Guess we aren't doing this quietly." Deni commented, and they started firing at the skitters, effectively drawing the attention of the Espheni in the area.

Once the fighters killed the two skitters, they stood up, and started moving towards the building, firing at the aliens as they went. Kadar stayed behind the soldiers, head down so he wouldn't get hit as the Mechs also started firing at them.

As more skitters started coming towards them, Hal managed to look around, and saw an entrance to the building that was now unguarded. He looked back at the other members of his group, and saw they were well distracted. This was probably the best chance he would get of sneaking into the building and destroying the power source without anyone realizing it and without putting anyone in danger.

Despite the guilt he started feeling at the thought of leaving everyone to fight the Espheni by themselves, he slipped into the building. He knew he had to do this, and he had to do this now.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal slowly made his way through the building. So far, no one had followed him. The echoing sounds of gunfire from outside told him that they were still fighting the skitters and Mechs, so odds were, they didn't realize that he was gone. It wouldn't take long for them, especially Ben, to notice though, so Hal had to act quickly.

The building was big, full of hallways and doors, but it seemed the farther he got inside, the stronger the connection got. He could feel the power source, pulling him closer to it like rope tied around him.

So far, the place was empty. He couldn't see, hear, or sense any Espheni. They probably all went outside once they heard the gunfire. After all, they wouldn't want anyone getting close to their power source. He hoped they wouldn't realize he had gotten through. When they started attacking the Espheni, the Overlords seemed to have backed off, so Hal hoped they hadn't come inside and taken the power crystal before he could destroy it.

The invisible energy wave Hal had been feeling got stronger and stronger with every step he took. He was getting closer. Finally, has he turned a corner, he saw a door at the end of the hall, and he knew the crystal was just behind the door. He could faintly see the bright blue light shining out of the cracks of the door.

Still not seeing or hearing any skitters, Hal made his way to the end of the corridor and entered the room. The crystal was sitting in its glass box on the table in the middle of the room. There was no one else around and he started walking towards it.

He looked at the box, trying to find a way to open it, when he noticed that the sounds of gun and Mech fire had stopped. Either his team had killed the guards and were soon going to notice that he was missing and come find him, or, the Espheni killed them and would probably come and check on the power source. Either way, Hal had to act now.

Looking at the box again, he noticed a pair of hinges on the bottom on the opposite side. Hal placed his hand on the glass, and pushed up. The box opened easily, and the stone's light started pulsing, like it was a heartbeat. Once the box was completely opened, Hal stuck his hand inside and touched the crystal.

Hal immediately felt his energy start to drain, and the veins in his arm and hand started turning blue as it moved towards the stone. He kept his hand in position as the power source started to glow its brilliant blue color. Then, he started hearing a cracking noise, like glass being crunched under someone's boot.

Cracks started to appear on the stone's smooth surface, causing the light to shift into random beams shooting out into all directions. All of Hal's instincts told him to pull his hand away and run as fast as he could, but he kept himself still until the glowing in his arm stopped, telling him that everything and anything he had received from it had been given back.

He pulled away as the glowing in the stone turned to yellow and orange and the cracking noise got louder and more frequent. He started walking backwards, and was about to turn to run when he felt a powerful and burning hot force push him into the door. The world went black before he even hit the ground.


	24. Couldn't Save You from the Start

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing. (Do I still really need to keep saying this?)

 **AN** – And I'm HOME! And the school year is OVER! So, updates might come a little earlier now that I have more time to write. To Jubs, you will find out the answer to your question not in this chapter, but the next two chapters after this. Again, thank you SO MUCH for your reviews, I hope you, and everyone else who reads this story enjoys this chapter. Please review, they make my day!

 **Enjoy!**

Ben didn't even realize that his brother had disappeared. The skitters and Mechs demanded everyone's full attention. The Overlords, who stayed in the background, seemed to be doing nothing, though Ben knew they were probably commanding more skitters and Mechs to come and defend the building, which was not good.

Anthony and Deni stood beside him while Kadar stayed hidden behind one of the huge piles of rubble.

Kadar pressed his back against the rubble so he wouldn't see the fight. He hated guns, hated weapons, hated anything to do with violence. It was one of the main reasons why he preferred to stay underground in Charleston, so he didn't have to see of be part of the fighting. Yet he somehow let Tom Mason again, convince him to come out and into the cross-hairs of a fight.

As he held his head down and brought his knees up to his chest, trying to be as small as possible so he wouldn't be seen or get hit by any stray bullets, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to get a better look, and saw Hal Mason running towards the entrance to the building. _What on earth was he doing?_

 _"_ _I wanted to ask your opinion on something. It's about power sources."_ The conversation he had with Hal two weeks ago came to mind, but he didn't no why.

 _"_ _Can you give power to a power source?"_

Hal's question repeated over and over in his head, and Kadar remembered that it was the day after that when Tom came to him and pleaded with him to come on this mission because Hal couldn't get the answer from an Overlord they had apparently captured. Yet, if Hal didn't get an answer, why did he come to him asking that specific question, and why was he running into the building by himself.

Realization suddenly dawned, and horror covered the scientist's face. _Oh no_.

Kadar started to move to follow the President's son, but stopped when a Mech fired a shot right by him. He couldn't leave his spot, not until the others could defeat the skitters and Mechs. Hal was on his own.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben didn't think they were going to get out of this mess. He wasn't kidding about the Overlords calling for reinforcements or about how well protected this power source would be. He just didn't realize that they would get here so fast, and that there would be so many of them.

Just as a Mech lifted its arm to fire at Ben, a shot rang out and the robot fell to the ground, revealing Tom and his group behind it. From there, it didn't take long to destroy the rest of the Espheni guards, though the two Overlords that were previously there disappeared. _Probably ran for safety,_ Ben figured as he killed the last skitter.

"What happened to keeping this mission quiet?" Weaver asked as Tom headed over to his middle son.

"Kadar stepped on a branch." Ben explained as his Dad put his hand on his shoulder and checked him over, making sure that Ben wasn't injured.

"Where is he, and where's Hal?" Tom wondering, looking around for his oldest son and the scientist.

"They're right there." Ben turned his head to look behind him and saw Kadar come out of his hiding place slowly, but there was no sign of his brother.

"Well, he was right here." Ben told his Dad, looking around for Hal.

"He went inside. Went to destroy the power source." Kadar informed them as he made his way over to Tom.

"You figured out how to destroy it?" Maggie questioned as she and Matt came over to Tom and Ben.

"No, Hal already knew. He's known for a while." Kadar replied.

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked.

"The day before you asked me to come on this mission, Hal came to ask me something. He wanted to know if a power source can receive its own power." Kadar answered.

"Can it?" Weaver inquired.

"Depends on the power source, but I don't think this one can. Hal will just need to touch it, and it will destroy itself." Kadar responded.

"Well, then it should be easy. Why didn't he just tell us if he knew it was going to be that easy?" Tom wondered.

"Because it's not. Tom, in order to effectively destroy the power source, it will need to come into contact with something or someone that has received a lot of its power. It will then transfer out of whatever or whoever it's in, and back into the stone."

"Sounds pretty easy to me." Matt commented.

"It's not that. After the power transfers, it can cause a major reaction, which would destroy it. It's the reaction that's the problem."

"What kind of reaction?" Tom asked, beginning to get worried at the scientist's tone and look on his face. Kadar opened his mouth to answer, when a loud explosion filled the air and a harsh wind pushed against them. They looked up to see the building starting to collapse. In the sky above them, beamers and Eshpeni spaceships started to hurdle towards the ground.

"HAL!" Tom yelled and started running towards the building where his son still was. Ben, Matt, and Maggie made to follow the leader but Weaver reached out and grabbed Matt while Deni stuck her arm out to stop Ben. Anthony rushed forward to grab Maggie's elbow and pulled her back away from the building.

"Tom stop! The building's not stable! Tom!" Weaver called out, holding back a struggling Matt, but the father didn't listen and disappeared into the office building.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"HAL!" Tom screamed his son's name as he pushed away the debris so he could get farther into the building. Tom continued making his way inside, despite still hearing Weaver yelling for him to stop, that the building wasn't stable. He didn't care about that, he had to find his son.

"HAL!" No matter how many times Tom called out for his son, or how loud his voice was, there was still no response. As the President kept moving through the building, he spotted a doorway, and saw ceiling tiles lying on top of something, because there was no way the ceiling tiles would've been positioned the way they were if there wasn't something under them. Tom headed for it, seeing pieces of dry wall and a wooden beam also covering whatever was on the door that had been broken down.

Pushing away all the wreckage, Tom quickly uncovered a boot, then the leg it was on, and finally the limp body lying flat on its back. Hal's limp body.

"Hal!" Tom cried out, pushing away any remaining debris, and moved to kneel beside his son. Besides a large cut on his forehead that was bleeding heavily and some blood trickling down the corner of his mouth, there wasn't any injury that Tom could see, though he knew that odds were there were more injuries than that.

"Hal?" Tom said, his voice quieter this time. He gently tapped Hal on his cheek, trying to rouse him, but his son didn't respond. The Mason father moved to shake the young man's shoulder, and that was when he finally got a response. Hal let out a small moan, and his eyes slowly opened.

"Dad?" Hal croaked, then immediately started coughing with all the dust in the air, which made him all too aware of the pain in his chest, ribs and left shoulder.

"Easy, easy. I'm here, it's going to be okay." Tom tried to comfort him, brushing Hal's hair away from his forehead.

"Did it work?" Hal asked once he managed to stop coughing.

"Yeah, it did. It worked. But we need to get you out of here. Can you stand?" Tom questioned. Hal thought for a moment, then tried to sit up, only to fall back down as the pain in his ribs intensified. Hal shook his head.

Tom knew the minute Hal tried to sit up that he wasn't walking out. Without thinking twice, the father slipped his son's arm over his shoulders and pulled him up into a sitting position. He grimaced when he heard Hal give a small gasp of pain, but kept going. When Hal was upright and leaning heavily against Tom, his head resting on his father's shoulder, Tom slipped his other arm under Hal's legs and lifted him up into his arms.

He hadn't carried his oldest like this since he was 9, after Hal had fallen asleep in the car and Tom carried him into the house. It was then that he realized that his boy was too big for him to carry anymore. Tom knew the only reason he was able to carry his fully-grown son now was because of the adrenaline that was running through his body.

Once he was standing with Hal in his arms, Tom made his way out of the building.

When his Dad lifted him up, Hal instinctively curled up slightly against his father's chest and gripped the older man's coat. He felt as though he was a little kid again, back when he naively believed his parents could solve every problem with a hug and kiss. Hal closed his eyes as Tom started moving, trying to keep in every grimace and gasp of pain as the movement caused the throbbing in his ribs to get worse.

The next thing Hal was aware of, was that he was being laid down on the ground, his head and shoulders being supported by something hard. He barely heard his Dad yell for someone to get Anne.

It was only when someone started shaking his sore shoulder that Hal opened his eyes and fought harder to become more aware of his surroundings.

Ben was on his knees beside Tom, who was sitting on Hal's right, while Maggie was kneeling on Hal's other side, fear completely exposed on her face and in her eyes. It was her who had been shaking his shoulder, trying to keep him awake. Matt then suddenly appeared beside Maggie.

"Hey." Hal whispered, and Maggie gave him a small smile despite how weak his voice sounded and how terrible he looked.

"Hi. You want to tell me what you were thinking?" Maggie asked, gently pushing his hair away from the cut on the side of his head.

"That it was, the only way to, destroy it." Hal answered slowly, then started to cough painfully. Maggie put her hand on his shoulder, as did Tom.

"Easy, easy Hal. Just breathe." Tom told him. The coughing stopped after a few seconds, then Hal reached for his Dad's hand.

The President grabbed the hand his son held out, and squeezed it tightly before looking back at Hal's face.

"You have to go." Hal whispered, and Tom instantly shook his head.

"No, I'm staying right here."

"You have to, you have to kill the Queen. You have to end this." Hal told him. Before Tom could again protest, Weaver, who had come over without anyone noticing, chimed in.

"Tom, he's right." Tom looked up at his friend, then back at his oldest.

The father looked beyond conflicted and was struggling to come up with a response, when he heard Anne's voice call out his name. She and Anthony, who had gone to get her with Dr. Kadar, came over to the group. Kadar had stayed behind with the Volm while Anthony and Anne returned.

Ben moved so Anne could take his place beside his older brother while Tom continued holding his son's hand tightly.

"Tom Mason, if we're going to do this, we need to do this now." Cochise said as he came to stand beside Weaver.

Tom pressed a kiss on Hal's forehead then got up and followed Weaver and Cochise over to where they had placed their weapons as Ben took his father's place beside his brother, also grabbing his brother's hand.

"You should go with Dad, watch his back." Hal told him.

"My spikes won't work anymore. Power source destroyed, remember?" Ben pointed out.

"It wasn't the spikes that made you a fighter, Ben." The blonde stared at his brother in shock. He couldn't remember the last time Hal had ever said anything like that to him.

"Well, I learned from my big brother." Ben replied, remembering how Hal taught him how to use a gun, how to shoot a moving target, where to aim when shooting skitter, how to be a soldier.

Hal gave him a small smile in response, then squeezed Ben's hand. After giving a squeeze in return, Ben got up and backed away from his brother, letting Anne move closer. He looked over at his Dad who, after grabbing his weapon, made his way back to his oldest son. Kneeling down, he ran his hand through Hal's hair.

"We'll be back as soon as we can. Everything's going to be okay. I promise." Tom told his son.

Hal nodded and whispered, "Go."

As much as Tom's instincts told him not to, the President got to his feet and headed towards the Lincoln Memorial with Weaver, Cochise, and Tector. Ben took one last look at his brother, then at Deni. She nodded, letting him know that she would stay and watch over Hal, and the rest of the group that was there. He then followed his father towards the Espheni Queen.

 **AN** \- I know, this chapter's a little short, but next chapter will be longer. Next chapter, will also be very, very, very emotional. Warning you all now.


	25. Sacrifice

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing.

 **AN** – Hello. This chapter is a little long, and very, very, VERY emotional but I hope you guys like it! And have some tissues. If you don't like it, I'm sorry but this is where I wanted to go and hope you guys can understand that. I hope you all do like it though. Song is Sacrifice by Zella Day.

To Jubs and scienceficfan24 – Thank you both so much for your reviews! It reviews like that make me want to keep writing and update as soon as I can. I hope you both like this chapter.

 **Enjoy!**

 _I don't wanna be touched by the fear in your eyes, I don't wanna be left for my demons to find_

After checking Hal's pupils and seeing the sluggish response, an obvious sign of a concussion, Anne moved to check his breathing. Hal's chest was not rising and falling steadily, and his breathing was heavy, as though it was a struggle for him to do such a simple action.

"I'm just going to check your ribs, okay?" Anne let Hal know. He nodded weakly, then turned his head slightly to look at Maggie, who was still sitting on his other side, clutching his hand in hers.

Slowly, Anne lifted Hal's shirt carefully, not wanting to cause him any pain, but also not wanting Maggie or Matt to see. As she looked, Anne held in a gasp when she saw the damage.

Hal's entire torso was covered in bruises, but the worst of them were on his ribcage. Anne could plainly see that his ribs were broken. Lowering his shirt a little, Anne looked back over to the young man's face.

"Okay. Hal, you got a few broken ribs. I'm just going to check how badly they're broken, but this might hurt a little bit." Anne explained. When Hal nodded, Anne lifted his shirt once again, and slowly ran her hand over his ribcage.

Hal gasped in pain and Anne whispered, "Sorry."

Anne pulled her hand away and lowered his shirt. She kept her face hidden and started rummaging through the medical bag that she had brought with her, though she knew she wouldn't find anything that could help Hal.

His entire ribcage was broken, completely caved in. She could feel the slight swelling in his torso, a sign of massive internal bleeding. When there's internal bleeding in the torso, it's not noticeable because of how much muscle and fat was in that part of the body. Since Anne could feel the swelling, she knew it was bad. And the blood coming up out of his mouth was an obvious sign of a punctured lung, which can easily collapse. Unless he had emergency surgery in the next 20 minutes at most, he wasn't going to make it.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _When the leaves are gone and the beating sun, brings the world bang drums_

When Tom saw how close they actually were to Lincoln Memorial, he almost smiled at their good fortune. Almost. The thought of Hal getting injured in the explosion, and the sight of more than 20 Overlords, countless skitters and Mechs guarding the building behind the headless statue ruined it.

"Well, those Mechs aren't going to be of any help to them. So that's one thing we don't have to worry about." Weaver pointed out, looking over the ledge they were hiding behind.

"But we still have the skitters to worry about. Just because the power source is down, doesn't mean the Overlords can't still control them through their harnesses." Ben added. Tom looked over at his middle son. He was slightly out of breath, and looked exhausted.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Tom asked. Ben knew that without his spikes, he wouldn't be as strong as he would be with them, but he knew he could help, so he nodded.

"Are the Berserkers in position?" Tom turned to question Weaver. The Colonel grabbed the binoculars from his pocket and looked through them, searching for any sign of Pope and his gang.

"Yup. It's now or never Tom." Weaver replied, putting the binoculars away once he spotted the Berserkers and the Volm. They were with on the other side of the memorial making their way towards them.

"Alright, let's do this." Tom told them. He lifted up his gun and started shooting at the skitters. Ben, Weaver, Cochise and Tector did the same.

The minute the bullets start flying, the skitters started charging. At first, the Overlords watched, waiting for their servants to defeat them, but then they heard more gunfire and bombs going off behind them. Pope and his gang were coming. A few of the Overlords turned and ran, while most of the fish-heads remained behind and moved to attack as well. Fortunately, Tector managed deal with them before they got too close.

While Tom, Ben, Weaver, Cochise, and Tector were holding their own, more skitters kept coming. Odds were the Overlords had called for reinforcements. It wasn't surprising, especially if their Queen was still here.

True to Pope fashion, he and his Berserkers waited until the moment they were about to be overrun before they showed up. With their help, the Overlords and skitters didn't have a chance.

"Took you long enough." Tom commented as Pope and his gang came over to them once the Espheni attackers were dead.

"Excuse me, we were in position before you all got here. We just got distracted by all the new skitters that showed up." Pope defended himself, then turned back to his own group of fighters, ordering them to guard the perimeter so no skitters or fish-heads could surprise them.

Once they left, Pope turned to back to the President to say something, when a loud skittering noise attracted everyone's attention. They all turned their heads, and saw something crawling onto the top of the building behind Lincoln's headless statue. Weaver opened his mouth in shock.

"Holy -"

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _Be a dose of protection through the blood and the tears_

Hal tried to breathe normally, but he couldn't. He felt as though there was no oxygen getting into his lungs, so he tried to take deep breaths. But whenever he did that, he would start coughing again. And the coughing hurt way more.

When Anne had started checking him over, and pressed down against his ribcage, Hal almost blacked out. He squeezed Maggie's hand as tight as he could as the pain threatened to overwhelm him.

"Shh, it's okay Hal. It's okay." Maggie tried to comfort him, continuing to run her fingers through his black hair.

"Skitters incoming!" Anthony yelled as the aliens came into view. Maggie and Matt looked over their shoulders to see the incoming attack, both knowing they should go help, but were hesitant to leave Hal.

"You two go help. I'll watch Hal." Anne told them. Maggie gave Hal a quick kiss on his forehead and got up to go help Anthony and Deni. Matt quickly followed.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Hal asked the woman who was practically his stepmother once they were alone. It only took one look at Anne's heartbroken and painful expression to answer his question. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Hal, I-" Anne started to explain, but Hal cut her off.

"It's okay. It's okay. I knew the risks." Anne grimaced when Hal started to cough again, more blood coming out of his mouth. She quickly grabbed a gauze pad from her medical bag and started wiping the blood away, both of them ignoring the sound of gunfire. He looked to be in so much pain and Anne wished she had something to give him, when the syringe with a sedative came to mind.

"I don't have any painkillers Hal. But I do have some sedatives." Anne said, hoping he understood what she was getting at. He did, and shook his head.

"No, no drugs." Hal replied. If he really was about to die, he didn't want to go under the fog of a drug. Anne nodded, agreeing to his request, and moved to wipe the blood away from the cut on his forehead.

As the gunfire got louder, Anne looked up to see the skitters were still coming. They hadn't stopped since Anthony had announced their presence. Maggie, Matt, Deni and Anthony were fighting hard, but they were going to be overwhelmed if they didn't get help soon.

Anne picked up the gun from her belt that she kept in case of an attack. She was hoping that she might be able to help from her spot beside Hal, but at that moment, another group of skitters appeared behind her. She was about to yell for help, when she saw the skitter leading them had face paint on the side of his head. It was the rebel skitters. They ran passed her and Hal towards the other skitters that the four fighters were struggling to keep back.

It was the sound of pain-filled coughs that grabbed the doctor's attention again. Turning her back to the young man in her charge, Anne saw a trickle of the red liquid starting to make its way down Hal's chin again. Slipping her arm under Hal's shoulders, she lifted him up, and moved him closer to the boulder that he was lying against so he was sitting more upright which would help his breathing.

Once that was done, Anne grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently while she placed her free hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair to comfort him. Besides giving him drugs, which he already said no to, this was the most she could do for Tom's eldest son. She had no medication that could fix him and it appeared that with the power source destroyed, his body couldn't heal himself anymore. Even if they got him on a Volm ship this second, and headed back to Charleston at top speed, they wouldn't get there in time to save him.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _I will find you in a burning sky, where the ashes rain in your mind, ohh, ohh, sacrifice_

 _Hal sure wasn't kidding about the appearance of the Espheni Queen_ , Ben thought, looking at the alien. While his brother's description had seemed almost humorous, it sure wasn't when you could see it for yourself. She truly did look like a gigantic spider, even bigger than the one in that Lord of the Rings movie. Her legs were longer, and her entire body looked to be cover in some sort of hard scales. They even covered her head, which looked more like a skitter's than a spider's, though smoother and sharper. It would be difficult to get a bullet through those scales.

"Well, well, well. You have finally come. The foolhardy, self-proclaimed leader of the human race. Tom Mason." The Queen spoke. That took all the fighters a little by surprise. Tom didn't think of the possibility of the Queen being able to communicate with them normally, as none of the skitters or Overlords could. Her voice, while melodic, was also taunting and condescending.

"I've heard a lot about you through my Overlords Tom. The human scholar who actually believes you can beat me, beat us." The alien revealed. She kept moving around on the roof of the building, hiding so that nobody could get a clear shot of her.

"That's funny. They didn't say anything about you." Tom replied, silently instructing the fighters still with him to spread out and see if they could get a clear line of sight on the spider.

"No, they wouldn't have. It must have been that offspring of yours, the one my human Overlord Karen tried to turn, wasn't it? What was his name again? Hal, right? Karen sure cared about him. She had to do a lot persuading in order to try experimenting on him. Even though she had your daughter, and Alexis had our DNA melded into hers, Karen felt that trying on an adult would help quicken our plan." Tom and Ben both paused at the mention of Hal and Lexi. They didn't expect the Queen to say anything about them. They didn't really think about why Karen did what she did and if she was taking orders from someone.

Pope tried to take advantage of the sudden silence, and the fact that the Queen was now looking over the edge, exposing her head. He lifted his gun and fired three headshots. The scales on her head however, protected her and the bullets actually ricocheted off. Pope barely had time to move before he got hit with his own ammo, while the Queen ducked out of view again.

"Well, that didn't work now did it?" Tom spoke once everything went silent again. He looked over and saw Pope getting back into position.

"No, no it didn't. I knew that he would fight against us no matter what we did. He was older, stubborn, corrupted by you humans ignorant beliefs. But she insisted. Even when he tried to escape, she stopped my one of my Overlords from killing him. Her human connection to him made her weak. It made her tell him about me, instead of staying loyal to the side she chose to fight for." The Queen told them, and Ben remembered what Hal had told him, how the Overlord that hurt him was about to kill him, yet suddenly stopped. How Karen had told him about the Queen.

"'Chose'? She didn't have a choice. You harnessed her, controlled her. If you never did that, she would never have sided with you." Ben chimed in bitterly.

He didn't know why, but he felt a need to defend the girl who had caused his family so much pain as she did actually side with Espheni. Despite that though, it still all started with her being harnessed.

Maybe he defended her because he was also harnessed. He could've been sucked into the Espheni's beliefs just like Karen was. It might've even been easier for him because he didn't actually fight against them when he was taken like Karen did. His hate against them hadn't fully grown when he was taken. Maybe it was that despite everything she did, she still cared for and protected his brother from the what the Queen and Overlord wanted. And in the end, she helped them by showing Hal the Queen and where she'd be.

"If our harness was not given to her, she never would've discovered the truth. And I admired her desire to show all you other humans what she had learned. It was why I allowed her to try and complete our original plan." The spider-like alien defended herself.

"What plan?" Tom asked, moving to try and get a lock on the alien, though was actually curious about what the Espheni Queen would say. Like every survivor, he couldn't help but wonder why the aliens attacked. This might actually be their only chance at getting an answer.

"A plan made long ago. I knew it would fail, the plan to show your disgusting race of how ignorant and inferior you truly are to us. Yet I let Karen try anyways, thinking that maybe, you all might have learned better over the last thousands of years, learned how to accept us as your superiors, and let us fix your world. But no, you and your kind stubbornly resisted. You would rather die, and have all of your race die, then admit that you are not capable of ruling yourselves." The Queen explained angrily.

"Our problems aren't yours. You had no right to come to OUR planet, and try to take over!" Tom yelled at her.

"I had every right to launch an attack your kind. It was you attacked us when we came to your planet!" The Queen screeched as she leapt from the building's rooftop to the statue, landing right on Abraham Lincoln's neck as his head was gone. When she did that, Cochise saw her soft underbelly, a perfect target.

"What are you talking about? We could've bombed you when you first came here, yet we didn't. Your Overlords bombed us first!"

"This time around, yes. The first time we came to this planet, no, your kind attacked us first."

"What do you mean?" Tom inquired, his voice quieter this time.

"Thousands of years ago, our planet started to die and we were forced to relocate. My strongest warrior, my daughter, told me of this planet, of this race that was violent and destroyed each other. She persuaded me that we could live in harmony with your race, that you needed us to fix your terrible societies. I sent her ahead, and your kind destroyed her, and her army."

"And you didn't learn anything from that? You still thought we would bow down to an alien race who killed millions of people, kidnapped and enslaved our children? You risked your entire people and race for revenge, instead of trying to find another unoccupied planet to live on?" Tom questioned, his voice slightly hoarse from the yelling he had done earlier.

"Finding an unoccupied planet that would be suitable for us is a statistical impossibility. And my daughter was loved by all of our people. They all agreed to not only avenge her, but to honor her memory by taking the planet she had chosen. We had hoped with our entire army, and our show of power, you humans would see sense, but no. You still fight though you know you will die in the end." The Queen taunted, and started moving back and forth on the statue, as though she was getting ready to pounce.

"I'm not so sure about that. Your kind lost before, thousands of years ago, back when we ourselves considered humans uncivilized. But we have grown stronger, smarter, in that time. And one thing we learned and never forgot, is that those who refuse to learn from their history, are doomed to repeat it." That comment seemed to be the final stray not only for the Queen, but for Tom as well. The gigantic alien leaped from her perch on the statue as Tom, Ben, Weaver, Cochise, Tector, and Pope all raised their guns and fired.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _Tell me you, will hold me in the golden afterlife, yeah, you, you don't have to die alone tonight_

Anne and Hal waited patiently as the rebel skitters continued to help Matt, Maggie, Deni, and Anthony defeat the Overlord controlled skitters. She kept her hand wrapped around her boyfriend's son, allowing him to squeeze it whenever the pain she knew he was feeling became too much. She wished she could give him the sedative, to allow him to go peacefully. But if he didn't want it, Anne wouldn't force him.

"Anne?" Hal's force was weak and hoarse.

"I'm right here Hal. Right here." Anne let him know.

"I need you to, promise me something." Hal told her, weakly turning his head to get a better look at her.

"What?" Anne asked, keeping her voice gentle.

"Promise you'll, take care of my Dad, and Ben, and Matt, and Maggie? And make sure they know I love them, and that it's not their fault, okay?" Hal pleaded.

"Of course I will. I promise." Anne didn't hesitate to agree to the request. Hal didn't need to even ask. Even though she and Tom weren't married, and they hadn't really talked about her position in the Mason family, she had come to see them as her family. She knew she could never replace the boys' mother, but she loved them as if they were their own. And she knew that he was out of time to tell his family his last words, especially Tom and Ben.

"I'm happy, Dad found you." Hal revealed, then started coughing again, though not as badly as earlier.

"I am too. Don't try to talk Hal, save your strength, okay?" Anne instructed him. He nodded, and closed his eyes, but she could tell from his breathing that he was still awake.

Suddenly, Maggie and Matt were back. Matt came over to kneel by Anne, while Maggie got down on Hal's other side.

"Maggie?" Hal weakly called out.

"Hey, I'm right here." Maggie told him, grabbing his hand.

"Matt?" Hal wondered if his youngest brother also came over.

"Right here too Hal." Matt put his hand on his oldest brother's leg to let him know he was there as Anne was still holding his other hand. Slowly, Hal lifted his head and looked at Matt.

"Hey buddy. You okay?" Hal asked, and Matt nodded.

"You did good buddy. I'm so proud of you, and I love you. Remember that." Hal told his youngest brother. Before Matt could respond, or even understand why he was telling him that, Hal turned to look at Maggie.

"Mags, I love you so much. You're so strong, so beautiful, so brave. Meeting you, is the only good thing that came out of this war for me." Hal stopped to try and catch his breath. Breathing was becoming harder and harder.

"Don't say that Hal. You're going to be okay, you're going to be okay." Maggie cut him off when he opened his mouth to speak again. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to say goodbye, and Maggie didn't want to hear it. He was going to be okay, she wasn't going to lose him. She couldn't lose him, not again, not like this.

"Anne do something." Matt turned to beg the doctor, also realizing what his oldest brother was doing. Anne turned to look at the boy and with tears in her eyes, she whispered, "I can't."

"I love you all." Hal told them, and his eyes turned to look at the sky before they became still. The sound of his breathing, of his heart beating stopped. His chest no longer moved.

"Hal?" Matt cried, but there was no response. Hal's eyes remained opened, unblinking, unmoving, unseeing.

"Hal?" Maggie called, shaking his arm to try and get him to respond, but he didn't.

"Maggie, stop. He's gone." Anne told her, her voice filled with pain. Slowly, the doctor placed Hal's hand the she was still holding on his stomach, then lifted her hand and closed Hal's eyes. Once she had done that. Maggie fell forward, her head landing on her boyfriend's shoulder and started crying.

While Maggie continued to cry, Matt started to shake his brother's leg, trying to get him to wake up.

"Come on Hal. Wake up." Matt begged, his voice so quiet Anne barely caught it. She turned to Tom's youngest son, and tried to pull him away from Hal's body.

"Matt, I'm so sorry, but he's gone." Matt tried to fight her, still refusing to believe the truth, but ultimately fell into his surrogate mother's arms when Hal still didn't open his eyes.

Deni and Anthony watched the family break down from a distance, tears stinging both of their eyes. Both of their hearts broke at the loss of their comrade and friend. Even the rebel skitters looked sad at the sight before them. Deni wanted to go and comfort them, but she wasn't as close to them or to Hal as Anthony was, yet he didn't go to them either. Instead, he started walking towards the path that Tom, Ben, and the others took only a few minutes earlier.

"Where are you going?" Deni asked in a whisper, not wanting to disturb the grieving family. Anthony turned to look at her over his shoulder, his silent tears making their way down his cheeks.

"Someone's got to warn Tom and Ben what they're about to find out." Anthony responded. Then he turned and kept walking while Deni and the rebel skitters stood guard, making sure that Anne, Matt, Maggie, and Hal were not disturbed.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _If you start running away, then there'll be nowhere to hide_

As soon as they all fired, the Queen screeched and tried to finish her charge at them, but fell down on the ground. Nobody stopped firing their guns until the huge alien stopped moving, until she stopped breathing. Once she was dead, everything went quiet.

"Is that it?" Ben asked, looking at the dead Queen, wondering if this war was finally over.

"We have won the war, but there are still some battles left to complete. There are still Overlords out there, and we must deal with them. However, that can be done another day. I shall stay here until my comrades come to take care of the body. You should head back to your family." Cochise informed them. Tom didn't have any disagreements about that. Without another word, he started running back down the path that would take him to the other members of his family.

Cochise watched as the humans started running back to their own comrades. Once they were out of sight, he moved to get a closer look at the Espheni Queen. She laid limp, her eyes wide open, though completely unseeing. He looked away from her face, towards her neck, where he saw a small bluish glow.

He moved closer to the Queen, pushing away one of her legs so he could get a closer look. Around her neck, was a chain link with a crystal on it. It was blue, very small, and rigged on one end. Like it was part of a bigger stone, but had been broken off.

The other part of the power source, and it was still working.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _If we're closer to the other side, and the heavens all start to cry, ohh, ohh, sacrifice_

Ben followed closely behind his Dad, though was quickly hit with sore and heavy muscles. Now that his spikes were dead, his endurance and strength were pretty much back to where they had been before the invasion. Still, the desperation to see his brothers made him push himself forward. He was barely aware of Weaver, Tector, Pope and the rest of the Berserkers who were just behind him.

They weren't that far away when Anthony appeared on the path, all alone. Tom slowed his pace to a walk, smiling at the soldier, when he caught the look on the man's face.

"Anthony? What's wrong?" Tom asked worriedly.

"Hal." That was all the former cop needed to say before Tom took off running again. He ran right past the Anthony, all his focus on getting to his injured son as fast as he could. Ben was right behind his father, both leaving the rest of the fighters behind them.

Tom felt his heart stop at the sight before him. Hal was lying limp where he had placed him, Maggie was crying on Hal's shoulder, while Anne held a sobbing Matt in his arms. Even from the distance between them, Tom could see Hal's chest wasn't moving, could see Hal's skin becoming paler and paler. Ben, Weaver, Tector, Anthony, Pope and the rest of the Berserkers stopped behind them, but all of Tom's focus was on the sight before him. Slowly, the President started walking towards his son.

 _"_ _Tom, I'm pregnant." Rebecca told him once he sat down on the couch beside her, "You're going to be a father."_

Tom remembered as he walked closer. So far neither, Matt, Maggie or Anne noticed him.

 _"_ _Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Mason. You have a perfectly healthy baby boy." The doctor revealed to the new parents. Only seconds later, he placed the baby in Rebecca's arms. Tom couldn't stop smiling at the sight of his firstborn, his son. He watched as his wife held the baby tightly, giving him a kiss on the top of his head, before offering the baby to him. Tom instantly held out his arms as Rebecca placed their son in his arms. The baby opened his chocolate brown eyes, and smiled at him._

 _"_ _Hi there. I'm your Daddy." Tom whispered, somehow unable to comprehend that he was now a parent, that he and Rebecca had created this life._

Tom got Anne's attention when he stepped on a small stick, which easily cracked underneath his boot. He could see the pain and regret in her eyes, but gave it no thought. All of his focus was on the young man that laid limp on the ground, a rock being the only pillow he had.

 _"_ _Tom come here." Tom got up from the chair at the table where he was grading papers and came into the living when he heard his wife call for him. She was sitting on the ground beside Hal who was only 9 months old. When Rebecca saw that he had come, she lifted Hal to his feet and turned him to face his Dad._

 _"_ _There's Daddy. Go see Daddy." She told their son, and slowly, Hal started walking towards Tom, who instantly got to his knees and held out his hands, ready to catch him. Once he was close enough, Hal reached forward and wrapped his tiny hand around two of Tom's fingers. Tom laughed with joy and pride as his son successfully made his way across the room._

"Tom, there was nothing I could do-" Anne started to explain, but the man ignored her. Anne pulled Matt further away from Hal's body to allow Tom room to sit beside his oldest son. It was then Maggie finally looked up and saw her boyfriend's father, and though hesitantly, she too backed away, tears still streaming down her face. Tom fell to his knees, and got a clear look at his boy's face.

The blood had been wiped away. Probably Anne's doing. His skin was already turning gray, but he looked peaceful, almost like he was just asleep. Almost. Hal's one hand rested on his chest. Tom laid his own hand on top of it. They were almost the same size. When did that happen? When did the little hand that could barely wrap around Tom's finger become just as big as his? Since when did his son stop being his little boy and become a man? A man who died to give his father a chance to save their planet, and Tom wasn't even there to comfort him as he took his last breath.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the reality in front of him, Tom cried out and grabbed Hal's body, lifting it into his arms. Hal's head started to fall back, but Tom quickly place a hand under his boy's head, moving it to rest on his shoulder.

 _"_ _You were really brave tonight. And I'm so proud of you."_

 _"_ _You don't know what it's like to be a father, and to see your son grow into a man."_

 _"_ _There's going to be consequences, and there's going to be casualties."_

 _"_ _I'm not going to let them take you from me."_

Tears fell freely down the father's face and he held his son as tightly as he could, never wanting to let go. In his arms, he could keep his boy safe, even though he knew that Hal was already gone. He didn't keep his promise, he let the aliens take his son from him.

He was so lost in his grief, that Tom didn't feel Anne's hand on his shoulder. Didn't hear her voice, didn't even realize she was trying to get his attention. It wasn't until he felt someone trying to pull Hal's body out of his arms did Tom look up and tightened his hold on his son's body.

Cochise was kneeling on the other side of Hal's body. It was him who tried to separate the son from his father. Before Tom could protest, before he could tell the alien to leave him alone, Cochise brought up his hand, which was clenched tightly. Slowly, he opened his fist to reveal a small crystal in his hand. It looked to have been broken off from a larger crystal, and was glowing a light blue.

Tom looked back up at the alien, realizing what the Volm was getting at. If the main power crystal, the one which this small piece had broken off of, had actually saved Hal from the explosion three months ago, was it possible that it could…?

Slowly, and a little reluctantly, Tom loosened his grip, lowering Hal's body to allow Cochise access to him. Cochise moved closer and pressed the crystal against Hal's chest, right where his heart was.

At first nothing happened. Then the stone started glowing brighter and brighter. When it got to the point where Tom was tempted to look away, his eyes starting to burn at the brightness, he heard a loud gasp as Hal heaved in his arms.

 **AN** – I warned you all this was going to be an emotional chapter. Another warning, Hal's not out of the woods yet. Again, I hope you all like this chapter. Until next chapter.


	26. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer** – Think you all know by now I still do not own anything.

 **AN** – Hello, I'm back. I hope you guys like this chapter. Originally, this would've been the last chapter, besides the epilogue, but due to length, I cut it into two chapters. So, counting the epilogue, only two more chapters left of this story.

To Jubs – I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, and you might want to keep that tissue box nearby when you read this one. Also, to answer your question, the stone has saved Hal's life twice lol.

To PearlyPink – Not sure if you've read up to this chapter yet, but thank you so much for your review! I love Hal and love writing Hal-centric fics. Hope you enjoy this chapter and enjoy the rest of Falling Skies, (though you might get really upset with season 4, season 5 is really good and has some really good Hal plotlines. Just letting you know)

 **Enjoy Everyone!**

 _Look at where you are, look at where you started, the fact that you're alive is a miracle, just stay alive, that would be enough_ – **_That Would be Enough_** **, Hamilton**

 _"_ _I got a pulse! He's alive, but we need to get him back to Charleston!" Anne ordered._

 _"_ _Come on Hal, stay with me." Tom begged, placing his son on the gurney._

 _"_ _We need to hurry! I can't do anything for him here!" Anne yelled at the Volm._

 _"_ _He's coding! Lourdes get the crash cart!" Anne called out as they pushed the gurney into the operating room._

 _"_ _Charging, and clear!"_

Tom awoke with a start. It took him a few minutes before he collected himself, then looked at his surroundings. He was lying on a cot in the corner of a room. The blanket that was over top of him had been kicked onto the floor in his sleep. He sat up and saw Anne, who was watching him. She was standing by the hospital bed on the other end of the room, checking the machines surrounding the bed.

"How long was I out?" Tom asked.

"Only about three hours, give or take." She replied.

"How is he?" Tom asked, looking at the young man lying in the hospital bed.

"The same." Anne told him as he stood up and headed over to the bed.

Tom sat down on one of the chairs beside the bed, looking over his oldest son. There was a bandage on his head, covering the stitched cut, a breathing tube going into his mouth making sure oxygen reached his lungs, and an IV, which Anne called a central line, going into his chest, right by his heart. As he looked down at his son's arms, he saw the other three IV's, forcing nutrients, medication, and blood into Hal's broken and battered body. There was also a chest tube put in between his ribs to remove any air or blood that should not be there.

It had been four days since his son destroyed the power source, crippling the Espheni enough for Tom to kill the Queen, and he had paid a heavy price to do it. Hal had 10 broken ribs, one of which punctured his right lung, which had completely collapsed by the time they got back to Charleston. Not to mention, the broken bones caused massive internal bleeding, which had started to cause his left lung to collapse as well. He also had a badly bruised shoulder, and a major concussion.

By all means, he should've been dead, and he was, but not anymore, thanks to Cochise. The Volm, using the piece of the crystal somehow managed to bring back his son, though he was no where near out of the woods. But he had a better chance now than he did before.

Ever since they got back from Washington, Tom, Ben, Matt, and Maggie had kept a vigil watch on the young man, and it was only now that Tom realized it was just him and Anne in the room with Hal.

"Where are the boys, and Maggie?" Tom asked.

"I sent them to get something to eat. They've barely eaten at all in the last few days, and the last thing that they need is to get themselves admitted into the hospital." Anne explained, moving over to crouch down by Tom.

"You should go get something to eat too, take a breather." Anne suggested. Tom instantly shook his head.

"No, I'm staying here." Tom responded, keeping his eyes on his son.

"Tom, he's in a coma. There isn't anything you can do for him. You've barely slept and barely eaten. Making yourself sick isn't going to help him. At the very least, go get some fresh air. I can have someone bring up a tray for you. I'll watch Hal." Anne told him.

Tom looked up at her, then back at Hal before nodding. He got up from his chair, gave his son a quick kiss on his forehead, then left the room. Once he was gone, Anne sat down in the chair Tom had just vacated. She kept a watchful eye on the young man lying limp on the hospital bed, wishing there was more she could do. Unfortunately, it was all up to him right now.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben stared at the food on his plate, pushing it around with his fork. Every now and then he took a bite, but only because he knew he needed to eat, not because he actually had an appetite. Every few seconds, he looked up across the table at his younger brother, who, as far as Ben could tell, had not taken a single bite.

"Matt, you should eat." Ben told him.

"Not hungry." Matt mumbled, voice so low that Ben barely caught it.

"You've barely eaten in the last four days, you need to eat." Ben tried to persuade him. Matt's only response was to glare at him, as though daring his older brother to make him. The blonde opened his mouth to say something else, when Lourdes, Deni, and Lexi appeared with their own trays, and sat down beside the brothers.

"Hey, how's he doing?" Deni asked Ben. Over the last four days, she had given her friend and his family their space. While she wanted to help and comfort them, she knew that they would want to be alone with Hal for a while. This was the first time she had seen any of the Masons, besides Lexi, since they got back to Charleston.

"No change." Ben replied, looking down at his food as Deni just nodded, knowing what her friend was saying. While the family had been given their privacy, word of how badly injured the President's oldest son was spread through the city like a wildfire.

"Where's Maggie? I thought Anne sent her down here too." Lourdes wondered as she got Lexi settled into her chair.

"She came in with us, smelled the fried chicken the cooks were making, and ran the opposite direction to the bathroom." Ben answered. Lourdes nodded, placed her tray on the table before heading towards the bathroom in search of the missing woman.

"Is the food really that bad? Is that why you two aren't eating?" Lexi asked, looking down at her own plate cautiously when she saw that her brothers weren't eating. Ben couldn't help but smile at her naivety.

"No, the food's fine. Matt and I aren't really hungry, that's all." Ben told his little sister.

Deni smiled at Ben, though he didn't notice. Even though Hal was still in the hospital, badly injured, it was good to see Ben smile again. The last time she had seen Ben, he was definitely not smiling. He had just come back from helping kill the Espheni Queen only to find his older brother dead. He looked as though his world had just crumbled, tears silently falling from his eyes, in too much shock to move or make a sound. So, she wrapped her arms around him, and it was then that she heard his heartbroken sobs as he returned her embrace, his fingers clutching the back of her jacket as though he needed something to hold on to.

When Ben looked away from his little sister, he saw Deni smiling at him. When she saw that he had caught her, she quickly turned her head back to her plate. She grabbed her fork and started eating. Ben was about to do the same when he noticed Matt had dropped his fork and was glaring at the food as though it was the source of all his problems.

"You got to eat Matt. Starving yourself isn't going to help anyone buddy." Ben told him. Matt looked up at him with pure rage and a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Don't call me that! Just leave me alone!" Matt yelled in angrily. He instantly got up from his chair and stormed off, leaving Ben, Lexi and Deni in shock and confusion.

"What was that about?" Deni asked, turning to look at Ben.

Ben stared at his younger brother's retreating form, trying to figure out what he had said would've caused such a reaction from Matt. The words he said ran through his head until he focused the very last word. Buddy. He called him buddy. Right from day one, that was always Hal's nickname for Matt, and Ben used it.

"Oh crap." Ben muttered as he stood up and ran from the table after his younger brother.

"Why is Matt angry?" Lexi asked when Ben was gone.

"Well Lexi, sometimes when people are scared or worried, they get angry, because they are unhappy with the situation. It's their way of trying to be strong, and expressing themselves. Matt's angry because he doesn't like that Hal is in the hospital, and he doesn't like that he can't do anything to help." Deni tried to explain. Lexi furrowed her brow in concentration, as though she was trying to understand what she was just told.

"I don't like Hal being in the hospital, or Matty being angry." Lexi said after a moment.

"I don't either." Deni replied, then continued eating.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS.**

"Matt, Matt stop!" Ben called out, running after his younger brother who was still walking away, stomping his feet as he went.

"Matt, stop, please." Ben pleaded. Matt slowed to a stop, but didn't turn to look at him. When Ben got to his brother, he put his hand on Matt's shoulder and turned him around.

"What?" Matt practically screamed in his face. Everyone that was in the hallway started to leave, not wanting to witness what was about to happen.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean it like that." Ben apologized, then saw the slight tremble in Matt's lower lip, and the tears building up in the kid's brown eyes.

"Matt? Matt, what's going on?" Ben asked, bending down so he was eye level with Matt.

"You didn't see him. You didn't see his eyes wide open, didn't see him stop moving, stop breathing." Matt told him, tears starting to fall down his face as the memories of his big brother's death replayed in his mind.

Ben felt his stomach drop all the way down to his feet as his concerned expression turned to one of horror. No, he wasn't there when Hal actually died. He remembered coming up behind his Dad, seeing Hal lying limp on the ground while Maggie cried over him and Matt cried in Anne's arms. He knew instantly what had happened, and he completely froze. It was as though he had forgotten how to think, and breathe. It wasn't until Deni somehow appeared in front of him, and pulled him into her arms did he realize that tears were streaming down his face. It was then that he broke, but he wasn't there to witness his big brother take his last breath.

But Matt was. Matt, his baby brother, the one their Dad, Hal, and himself had all tried to keep safe, keep innocent of all the horrors of war, was the one who watched Hal die. With tears of his own starting to slip past his eyelids, Ben pulled Matt into his arms as Matt fully broke down into sobs.

"It's okay Matt. It's going to be okay. Hal's going to be okay." Ben tried to comfort his little brother. He wasn't sure how many times he whispered those sentences into Matt's ear before Matt finally spoke.

"Can we just go back, to see him? Please?" Matt begged, his sobs starting to subside. While Ben knew that Matt hadn't eaten anything at supper, that he really should get his younger brother to eat, Matt needed to be with Hal, needed to see his brother alive more than he needed food. They could get him to eat later, maybe just bring up a tray for him.

"Yeah, course we can. Come on." Ben replied, and with one arm still wrapped around Matt's shoulders, Ben led his brother back to Hal's hospital room.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Maggie had just sat back away from the toilet which she had been leaning against while she emptied her stomach, when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Maggie?" Lourdes voice came from the other side.

"Yeah?" Maggie replied, and the door slowly opened, revealing the young doctor.

"Are you alright?" Lourdes asked, coming to kneel down beside her friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Still feeling the effects of that stupid flu." Maggie answered, moving so she was leaning against the wall.

"How long have you been throwing up?" Lourdes wondered, knowing that the flu had run its course through Charleston a while ago.

"I don't know, two, three weeks?" The soldier responded, closing her eyes as her exhaustion started to settle in.

"Maggie, the flu that we got hit with doesn't last this long." The doctor informed her. The blonde's eyes shot open at hearing that. Lourdes laid the back of her hand against Maggie's forehead, checking her temperature.

"And you don't have a fever." Lourdes muttered.

"Then, it's probably just stress." Maggie suggested, pushing her friend's hand away from her head.

"Not going to deny that's a possibility, but have you ever been effected by stress like this?" Lourdes inquired. Hesitantly, Maggie shook her head when she realized that stress, while did cause her to feel a little sick, never made her throw up, and most definitely not to this extent.

"Maggie, when was the last time you had your period?" Lourdes questioned, her voice low. Maggie opened her mouth to answer, but then stopped when she realized she couldn't remember. She turned her gaze back at the doctor, who gave her sympathetic look.

"Come on, let's get you checked out." Lourdes said, as she helped Maggie to her feet and over to the infirmary.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Tom stared at the starlit sky and breathed in the fresh air. After leaving Hal's hospital room, he walked in a small daze until he made his way outside, by the Liberty Tree. People were walking around, doing something, but he barely noticed, and no one seemed to notice him. Well, almost no one.

"Tom?" He looked up to see Marina coming towards him. When she stood right in front of him, she asked, "How's Hal doing?"

"No change." Tom answered, looking at the branches and leaves of the metal tree. How many leaves, how many names were on that tree? What were the odds his son's name might still end up on one of those branches?

"Well, that's better than him getting worse." Marina pointed out. Tom only gave a small nod, though still looked worried. Marina did not blame him.

"The crystal gave him healing abilities, didn't it?" Marina questioned.

"Yeah, but when Hal destroyed it, he lost that ability. Anne and I wondered if the other piece of the crystal, the piece Cochise used to bring him back, would give him that power back, but so far, it doesn't look like it." Tom responded.

"Hal's strong, he'll be okay. And you take all the time you need, okay? Weaver, Cochise and I can handle taking care of the city and the soldiers." Marina told him.

"How is everything going? Anything from the rest of the Overlords?" Tom asked. He was still technically the President and should be taking care of stuff like this, but he couldn't say he truly cared at the moment. All his thoughts and worries were still with his son.

"Well, our soldiers and the Volm managed to kill a lot of the Overlords that were in Washington. But there are still a few of them out there. Some not even on this continent. Luckily, with the power source destroyed, they don't have access to their spaceships, so they can't get anywhere fast. The Volm think they still might try and attack, but with no Mechs, no beamers, and with lot less skitters under their control, I doubt it. The Overlords are fish in a barrel. Cochise said the Volm will help us continue to destroy them, and from what we can understand, the rebel skitters are helping that were free from the Overlords control." Marina explained.

"What about the harnessed kids?" Tom wondered, still keeping his eyes on the ground.

"It looks like they were freed too. Cochise has also agreed to help escort them here, and we can use the Volm de-harnessing device to get the harnesses off. The ones who became fully skitterized though, we're still trying to figure that out. But again, don't worry about it. Weaver, Cochise, and I can handle this. Right now, you just worry about Hal." Marina told him. Tom gave a nod of acknowledgement, then headed back inside to the hospital.

When Tom arrived in Hal's room, he saw Ben standing by the door and Matt sitting in the chair beside Hal's bed, holding Hal's hand in his. He looked over at his middle son, and saw from his expression, that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Tom asked, keeping his voice quiet so that Matt wouldn't hear.

"He's really worried about Hal, he wants to stay and make sure he's still here. He apparently actually saw Hal," Ben stopped his sentence, unable to force the words out. Luckily, his Dad got what he was trying to say and his face turned to one of sudden realization and shame. Apparently, he had forgotten that Matt was there to actually see it happen just like Ben did.

"Did he at least eat anything?" Tom questioned. Ben shook his head and before Tom could respond, a nurse, Lisa, came in carrying a tray.

"Anne said to bring this to you." Lisa said, handing Tom the tray.

"Thanks Lisa." Tom replied, grabbing the tray and placing it down on the table.

"Oh Ben? Anne wants to talk to you." Lisa added, then left the room. Ben quickly took a glance at Matt, who didn't seem to even hear any of them, then looked back at his Dad.

"You go, I'll stay here with Matt and Hal." Tom assured the blonde.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Get me if anything happens?" Ben asked, moving towards the door.

"I will." Tom promised, and Ben left the room. When he was gone, Tom turned to his youngest, who still hadn't so much as flinched since he entered the room. The father went over to Matt and knelt down beside the chair where he was sitting, putting his hand on Matt's shoulder.

"How you doing?" Tom asked. Matt's only response was the shrug of his shoulders.

"Matt, he's going to be okay." Again, no real response from his youngest, "You really do need to eat something." Tom told him.

"I don't want to leave." Matt finally answered. Tom lifted his hand from Matt's shoulder and placed it on Matt's head, fingers running through his son's short hair.

"Who said anything about leaving?" Tom wondered, then moved to push the table that had wheels on it towards Matt, who turned his head to look at what his Dad was doing. Once the table was in front of him, his Dad handed him the fork.

"Eat." Tom ordered, feeling as though he was talking to a stubborn three-year-old. Matt gave him a small smiled and slight shake of his head, then looked up in confusion.

"But what about you?" Matt asked.

"Don't worry. I'll eat later. You, just finish that." Tom replied. Matt sighed, but did what he was told.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Ben sat down in one of the chairs in the hallway once he was done talking to Anne. She wanted to check to see if the spikes were still working and if they were, if they would have any limits now that the power crystal was destroyed. However, it looked like they were completely dead, not that it was a surprise to them.

What they were still unsure of, was what would happen if they were in same area as an Overlord. Since the Overlords still had some control on the skitters due to their harnesses when they were close together due to their exposure to their power source, Anne and Kadar, who was also there, wondered if the spikes would reactivate if they were with an Overlord.

That was a question no one knew the answer too, and since they didn't have access to an Overlord, and they were planning on killing them all anyways, Ben didn't care. All of his thoughts were still on his brother, who currently needed a machine to help him breathe.

"Hey." Ben glanced up and saw Deni, coming over to him. She, and all the other kids who still had their spikes were there when Anne and Kadar questioned them about their spikes and offered to take them out if they wanted to have them out.

"Hey." Ben responded as his friend sat down in the chair next to him while he turned to look back at the floor.

"How are you doing?" Deni asked.

"I'm fine." Ben replied.

"Bull. You look like crap. You know that with our spikes not working, the whole not needing sleep doesn't work anymore." Beni pointed out.

"I know." Deni frowned at Ben's reply. He wouldn't make eye contact and he wasn't even trying to prove that he was okay.

"Ben? Come on, what's going on inside that head of yours?" Deni questioned.

"It's just, my brother is in the hospital, still fighting for his life, and Anne and Kadar are asking me about my spikes and coming up with theories of what we can do and what the risks are and if we should have them taken out or not. My brother literally died, don't they care about that?" Ben asked angrily, finally lifting his head but still not meeting her eyes.

"They care, okay? Of course they care. The thing is though, Hal is not the only person who was affected by what happened in Washington. There are soldiers who did die in that battle, and those who were injured. And all of us, with our spikes, were affected by that crystal being destroyed too. Just because they are also trying to help us, and the others, doesn't mean they don't care about Hal. No one is expecting you to try and help them with their theories or answer their questions right now. They were just letting us know what they know and think so we can be prepared." Deni explained. After a moment, Ben nodded dejectedly.

"I know, I just," Ben started, then stopped, unable to think of explaining himself. Suddenly, he felt Deni grab his hand. He looked up and saw nothing but sympathy and understanding.

"It's okay. I get it." Deni told him. Ben opened his hand so he could slip his fingers through hers and squeezed it tightly. She instantly squeezed in return.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

It was late when Maggie finally managed to make her way back to Hal's room. Matt was asleep in the cot in the corner of the room while Tom was asleep in the chairs beside Hal. She hesitated when she saw them. She didn't want to wake them, but when they didn't move at all, she continued into the room.

Slowly, she made her way over to the other side of the bed, the side opposite of Tom, and sat down on the edge, grabbing Hal's IV'd hand in hers. He looked terrible. Half of his forehead was covered with a bandage protecting the stitched cut. The tube going down his throat was held in place by a Velcro strap around his head. His skin was still way too pale, IVs in his hands and chest, not to mention the chest tube going into his ribcage.

"Hey, it's me. I don't know if you can hear me but, but if you can, I need you to listen to me okay?" Maggie stopped, feeling her throat catch and tried to blink away the tears that were filling her eyes. Once she was sure that she was in control again, she continued.

"We need you to wake up Hal. Your Dad, your brothers, your sister, me. We all need you to be here, with us. I told you before that I never thought I could recover from the life I had before the war, but then I met you. You changed me Hal. You were the one thing in my life that stayed constant, you never left me, even after I told you about my past. You showed me what it was like to live, not just survive. And now, whenever I think about my future, you are the one thing that is always there. I can't imagine a future without you in it, and I don't want to." Maggie told him, unable to keep a few stray tears from slipping past her barriers.

Maggie tried to finish what she came to tell him but couldn't. She couldn't tell him while he was unconscious, and not with the possibility of Matt or Tom or even a doctor or nurse listening in. He needed to know before anyone else, and he needed to be awake when she did tell him. Maggie held his hand closer to her, accidentally letting his limp fingers brush against her stomach, and the tears started coming faster.

After taking a deep breath to collect herself, Maggie lowered herself onto the bed, and as carefully as she could, she curled up against him. Placing her head on his shoulder as gently as possible, Maggie whispered in his ear.

"Hal, I know you're hurt, but we really need you to wake up, or at least, show us that you're still here. I love you, and I need you. There's something I need to tell you. Please wake up."


	27. Beginnings

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing.

 **AN** – One more chapter after this, then this story will draw to a close. Just because this story will be over doesn't mean I will stop writing Falling Skies stories though. I have four other Falling Skies stories planned and I will be working on them and start posting as soon as I can.

To Jubs – If you look at the beginning of chapter 22, you see some signs of what's going on with Maggie, but yeah it is still a little bit of a twist. Glad I still can surprise you a little. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

 **Enjoy Everyone!**

 _Two Weeks Later…_

At first, Hal wasn't aware of anything. He felt like he was floating, it was peaceful, quiet. Then slowly, it started to change. The first change was that he started hearing voices. They sounded familiar, but he couldn't figure out who they belonged to or what they were saying. After that, it was a steady beeping noise. He at first thought it was an alarm, but nobody seemed to turn it off. He then figured that it probably wasn't alarm, but he didn't know what it was.

The next thing Hal became aware of, was the feeling of a mattress underneath him. Then, a rough blanket under his hands. Every now and then, he thought he could feel another hand holding his in their grasp. He tried to figure out who it was, and what was going on, but every time he tried, he became so exhausted he slipped back into the darkness.

Hal was so confused. The last thing he remembered was telling Matt, Maggie, and Anne that he loved them. Did he pass out after that? He must've, but he couldn't remember actually closing his eyes. Did he die?

The curiosity finally won against his exhaustion, and he forced his eyes open. The ceiling was white and looked familiar. With the sound of the steady beeping, Hal quickly concluded he was in the infirmary, again. He tried to take a deep breath and started panicking when he became all too aware of something in his mouth and throat, blocking his ability to breathe.

"Hal?" Hal heard his father's voice, but the fear of whatever was in his throat and being unable to breathe was the only thing he could focus on.

"Hal, calm down! Anne get in here!" His Dad commanded as he came into his line of sight. His Dad put his hands on Hal's shoulder and arm, trying to stop him from reaching up to pull out whatever was blocking his airway. Suddenly, Anne appeared on Hal's other side.

"Hal! Hal, you have a breathing tube in your mouth. The tube is helping you breathe, but you need to calm down. It's okay, you're okay." Anne told him, placing her hands on his other shoulder and arm. Hal slowly stopped struggling as he realized that though he wasn't able to breath, oxygen was still somehow getting to his lungs. Anne smiled down at him when he stopped fighting and somewhat settled down.

"That's better. Now, do you think you can breathe without the oxygen tube?" Anne questioned. Hal immediately nodded, or at least, tried to. Now that the panic had subsided, he become aware of how tired his was. Luckily though, Anne got the message because she asked, "You're sure?" Again, he nodded.

"Alright, Tom can you help me?" Hal didn't hear his Dad respond, but did feel his Dad's hands go under his head and shoulders, lifting him up off the pillow a little. Anne then reached down under his head, undoing the strap that held the tube in place.

"Hal, when I count to three, I want you to cough as hard as you can, okay?" Anne instructed him and Hal nodded.

"One, two, three." Anne counted down and Hal instantly started coughing as Anne pulled the tube out of his throat. Once it was gone however, Hal couldn't stop coughing. His throat was so dry and the presence of the tube had made it worse.

"Easy, easy." Tom whispered, rubbing his son's shoulder. Anne took advantage of the fact that Tom was still holding up Hal's head, and slipped a nasal cannula around his face.

"Breathe through your nose Hal. That will help." Anne instructed him. For once, Hal obeyed and slowly the coughing ceased. Tom then lowered Hal back down onto the pillow.

Hal opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't force any words out. His throat felt as though he'd been swallowing sand.

"Don't try to talk just yet. Your throat's going to be sore because of the tube. I'll go get you some water." Anne informed her patient. She turned away and left Hal's line of sight, so he looked over at his father instead, who was still by his side. The relieved smile on his Dad's face told Hal that he had worried him, big time.

"Here you go." Anne's sudden reappearance demanded Hal's attention. He turned his head to look at her, and saw a cup with a straw in her hand. She helped him lift his head enough so he could drink. Once he was done, he pulled away and though his throat was still sore, he asked the question that was burning a hole in his head.

"What happened?" Hal croaked, his voice so quiet the adults could barely hear it. He couldn't remember anything after he told his family that he loved them.

"You were hurt in the explosion when you destroyed the Espheni power source. You've been in a coma for two weeks." Anne revealed. Hal remembered that much and was about to ask for specifics when he saw the pain in both his Dad's and Anne's eyes.

Hal searched his mind, trying to remember what all happened that night. He remembered his Dad carrying him out of the building, his Dad and Ben leaving to go kill the Espheni Queen. Anne, Matt, and Maggie were all beside him. Then Matt and Maggie left. He had asked Anne how bad it was and she didn't actual answer because he saw that it was bad, bad enough that he, wait. Did he actually, die?

"Did I die?" Hal asked bluntly. The look in his father's eyes made him regret asking. The look of pain and regret was heartbreaking. Hal didn't need his Dad or Anne to answer his question.

"But, then how?" If he actually died, if he was that badly injured, how was he still alive?

"We'll explain it when you're better. The important thing is that you're going to be okay." Tom said, not ready to dwell on those memories just yet. Plus, Hal already looked so exhausted and he wanted to wait until Hal was more alert and ready to hear how Cochise saved him. Suddenly, the door opened and Tom turned to see Matt, Ben, and Maggie enter the room. Smiles broke out on all three faces when they saw Hal was awake.

"Hal!" Hal turned his eyes to the door the minute he heard Matt's excited yell. Matt was running towards him, but Anne quickly turned and stopped him.

"Easy, easy. He's still pretty weak." Anne told him. Matt nodded, though reluctantly, and moved past her, making his way to the bed. Once he got to Hal's side, he sat down on the bed.

"Hey buddy." Hal whispered. Matt suddenly burst into tears, and fell forward, his head landing on Hal's shoulder. Hal managed to lift his arm and wrapped it around Matt.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm right here." Hal soothed his baby brother. Feeling someone grabbing his other hand, Hal looked over to see that Ben had come over on his other side, tears in his eyes. Hal squeezed his other younger brother's hand, trying to give him some comfort as well. Ben gave him a smile, holding in his own urge to cry in relief, and squeezed back.

As Hal turned his head to look again over Matt, his eyes found her. Silent tears were making her way down her face, and Hal instantly grew worried. He had only seen Maggie cry once, but then she gave him the biggest smile he had ever seen grace her face and he knew she was okay.

Maggie, for her part, kept herself a few feet away from the bed. As much as every instinct told her to run into Hal's arms, she forced herself to stay still. His family, his brothers needed their moment with him more than she did. Just seeing his beautiful brown eyes full of life once again was enough for her. Even though his voice was little more than a croak, it was music to her ears. She could wait for another moment with him. Hopefully, a more private moment during which she could finally tell him the secret she and Lourdes had been keeping for more than two weeks.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

An hour later, Hal finally fell back asleep. They all knew he had tried to stay awake as long as he could, but he was still so weak that he became tired very quickly. So, as Hal started to drift off, Anne ushered the family out of the room so Hal could get some real rest. It was then Anne told Tom about wanting to run some tests.

"What tests do you want to run? He seems fine." Tom asked Anne as they walked down the hallway in the hospital wing.

"He does appear to be fine, but his brain was without oxygen for a time and given what Karen did to him, I think we should check to be sure. Not to mention what could've happened when Cochise used the leftover piece of the power crystal to bring him back." Anne told the father. Tom put his hand on her shoulder as he stopped in his tracks, turning her around to face him.

"What do you mean?" Tom questioned, confused as to what the doctor was talking about.

"Like Kadar said when we realized Hal could connect with the skitters, it was because of the fluid that Karen had pumped into him. The fluid was similar to what the spikes had been pumping into Ben and Deni and the other harnessed kids. I did a few blood tests and found that the fluid is still in Hal's system. I think when Hal touched the original power source, he destroyed the connection the source and fluid had. But the drug didn't actually leave his system. When Cochise used the other piece of the stone to bring him back, there's a chance that it might have powered that fluid like it was before." Anne explained.

"Your saying it might have given Hal his abilities back." Tom concluded.

"Yes. We might have to wait until he's stronger before we know for sure, but there are some tests we can do to find out."

"But, he's not healing like he did before." Tom pointed out.

"No, but that part of the stone was a lot smaller and not as powerful. I just don't know yet." Anne replied.

"But, either way, Hal's going to be okay, right?" Tom couldn't help but ask for more confirmation. Anne gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yes, he's going to be just fine." After letting out a sigh of relief, Tom lowered his head and gave the doctor a kiss on the lips. She didn't hesitate to return it. Pulling away all too soon, Tom asked her another question.

"Have I told you lately how amazing you are?"

"Not lately." Anne replied with a smile.

"You are amazing. I love you Dr. Anne Glass." Tom told her.

"I love you too, President Tom Mason." Anne said back, and they sealed their declaration with a kiss.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

After Anne kicked them all out of Hal's room so he could get some sleep, Matt went to go watch Lexi. Lourdes had been watching her, but her shift at the hospital would be starting soon so Matt was sent to go get the young girl. Tom left to meet with Weaver and Marina, and Anne went back to work. It was then Ben told Anne his decision about taking out his spikes.

While the doctor was a little confused at Ben's request, she agreed to remove the spikes from his back. She promised to do the surgery after she had finished running the tests she wanted to run on Hal.

Ben didn't have to wait very long. Though his older brother was still weak and tired, he woke up again only a few hours after they had left his room. Before his family could swarm the room again though, Anne had him sent to have the tests done, leaving Ben alone waiting for the tests to be done so Anne could remove his spikes.

"Hey Benji." Ben looked up from his hands on his lap and up at Deni who was making her way down the hall towards him.

"Heard Hal's awake. How's he doing?" Deni asked, sitting in the chair beside him.

"Anne says he's going to be okay. She's running a bunch of tests on him right now, but he's going to be alright." Ben answered with a smile.

"That's great Ben." Deni commented with a smile.

"Yeah. It is." The blonde replied, looking back down at his hands, the smile leaving his face.

"You alright?" Deni questioned, a little confused as to why Ben didn't seem happier.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just, beyond relieved." Ben immediately responded, not wanting Deni to worry about him anymore than he knew she already was.

"So, what are you doing over here?" Deni inquired, seeing they were sitting by the operating room.

"Waiting for them to be done. When they are, Anne's going to take my spikes out."

"She is?" Deni was surprised to hear that. Ben had always seemed to enjoy what the spikes did for him, and the last time there was the option of having their spikes removed, he turned it down.

"Yeah. They're useless now anyways, and, after seeing what all this did to Hal, I just don't want any part of it." Ben explained, glaring at the floor. He knew that Hal was going to be okay, but he couldn't forget what his older brother went through and what he had to do in order to help destroy the aliens who were trying to destroy them.

"That's understandable." The other hybrid stated.

"What are you doing here?" Ben asked his best friend.

"Getting my new glasses. Like you said, spikes don't work anymore. My eyesight is back to what it used to be." She informed him of her reason for being in the infirmary.

"You'll look good with glasses." Ben told her.

"Oh, I don't look good now?" Deni teased, though from the look on Ben's face, he didn't realize it.

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, you always looked good, and you'll look good with glasses too." Ben tried to explain. Then he noticed the smile on her face and realized that she was teasing him and was trying not to laugh.

"Shut up." Ben said. Deni managed to keep from laughing, but kept smiling at him. Ben looked down at his hands, then back at her.

"Hey. Thanks, for everything." Ben said, his voice quieter.

"Of course." Deni replied. After she said that though, Ben continued to look at her. She waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. Instead, he slowly tilted his head closer to hers. Deni suddenly realized that she was leaning forward too, and their lips met in a kiss. After a few moments, they pulled apart to catch their breath yet kept their heads close to each other.

"That was, long overdue." Ben whispered, and Deni let out a quiet chuckle.

"D*mn right it was." Deni told him, and before he had a chance to respond, she pressed her lips against his in another kiss.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

After a long shift, Anne was finally finishing up her work for the day. While she waited for the results of the tests she had run on Hal, she used the Volm machine to remove Ben's spikes. The surgery went smoothly and Ben was barely affected. Just to be on the safe side though, Anne decided to keep Ben in the hospital overnight for observation.

She was just about to leave when Lourdes had come over with Hal's test result. As Anne was looking them over, she saw Tom walking down the hallway in her direction.

"Hey Tom." Anne greeted, looking up from the papers in her hand.

"Hey. Are those the test results?" Tom asked, coming over towards her.

"Yup. Everything's in the clear. He'll still need a lot of rest, but he's going to be just fine." Anne told him as he stood in front of her.

"That's a relief. What about the effects of the power source?" Tom questioned, glancing down at the results in her hand, though he barely understood what they said.

"Kadar is still running tests on that. But, we won't know for sure unless we bring in a skitter and have them try to connect to each other. If we do decide to do that though, I want to wait until he's stronger." Anne informed him.

"Good idea. And Ben?" Tom wondered about his other son who was now also in the hospital.

"Everything looks good there too. I'm keeping him in for observation, but he'll be just fine too." Anne assured him. She had thought that the news would make him relieved but he still looked worried, so she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, that's great news, it's just, Ben never said anything to me about wanting his spikes out. Usually, something like that, he'd come talk to me. But this time, he didn't." Tom revealed, remembering how he didn't know anything about Ben wanting his spikes out until a few hours before he told Anne. Tom, just like Anne and Deni, was surprised, but he supported his son's decision.

"Well, the spikes are dead now anyways. It's not like the choice is that difficult to make anymore." Anne reminded him. Tom nodded, yet still had a slightly confused look on his face.

"Yeah. You're free now right?" Tom questioned, changing the subject.

"Yeah. I'm done for the night." Anne replied.

"Good." Tom said as he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her along down the hallway.

"Tom, what's going on?" Anne wondered as he led her away from infirmary and towards their bedroom. Once they got to the room, Anne placed the papers she still had in her hand on the dresser, then turned to look back at Tom, who was standing by the foot of their bed.

"Anne, you are amazing. After Rebecca died, I never thought I could fall in love with someone again. I'm so glad that I was proven wrong." Tom told her, coming to stand right in front of her, grabbing her hand in both of his. Anne gave him a confused smile at his declaration. She felt the exact same way as he did, after all, she had a husband and a son before the war, but she didn't really understand why Tom was telling her this now. Not until he got down on one knee in front of her.

"Anne Glass, will you marry me?" Tom asked with a nervous smile. Anne returned it with a bright smile of her own and nodded.

"Yes." Tom instantly stood up, wrapped his arms around her and twirled her around in the air while she laughed with joy.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Maggie waited until she saw the nurses who had brought Hal back to his room to leave before she made her way towards it. She went inside and besides her boyfriend lying down in his hospital bed, she saw no one else in the room. Since it was late, and they had already been kicked of the room, the odds of someone else coming in, besides a nurse checking in on him, would be slim.

Hal looked better than he did earlier. His normal skin color was returning, the chest tube and the IV that went into his chest was gone, as well as two of the three IV's in his arms. Only one IV and the nasal cannula remained. Maggie was about to leave since it looked like he had already fallen asleep, when Hal opened his eyes. He immediately saw her and smiled.

"Hey. I was wondering when I'd get to see you." Hal said, his voice stronger than it was earlier.

"I wanted to let you have some time with your family, and once you started to fall asleep we were all kicked out of the room. How are you feeling?" Maggie told him as she went over to him and sat down on the edge of the bed. Hal lifted his hand and grabbed hers.

"A little sore, but I'm okay." Hal purposely left out how exhausted he still was. He wanted to talk to Maggie since he hadn't had the chance. While she as there with his family when he woke up the first time, they didn't really talk much and he knew that if he told her how tired he was, she would insist he rest and that they could talk when he was more awake.

"Yeah, you were pretty badly hurt." Maggie commented, looking down at their entwined hands. Hal watched her for a moment, noting the slight fearful look in her eyes.

"I'm going to okay you know." Hal assured her, squeezing her hand.

"I know, it's just, you really scared me. Hal, I get why you did what you did but, we need you here. Me, your Dad, your brothers." Maggie replied, looking back up at him. Her eyes were starting to get wet as the memory of Hal lying dead on the cold pavement almost three weeks ago came to mind.

"I didn't have a choice. It really was the only way." Hal tried to explain. He was about to explain further, but stopped when he saw Maggie nod.

"I know that." Maggie told him, but Hal could still see the look of pain in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Maggie. I never meant to scare you, or hurt you. I told you I'd always come back." Hal apologized.

"I know, but it's not just about me, or your siblings and your Dad anymore Hal." Maggie informed him.

"What do you mean?" Hal asked worriedly as he pushed himself up in a sitting position, though his ribs throbbed painfully in protest.

"A few days after we got back from Washington, Lourdes found me throwing up in the bathroom and made me go through a whole whack of tests. Turns out, it wasn't the flu." Maggie started to tell him. She stopped in order to try and gather up her courage, but the pause only made Hal get even more worried.

"Maggie, what's wrong?" Hal pushed for an answer. If she wasn't sick with the flu, what was she sick with? Was it something worse? Had her cancer come back?

"Hal, I'm pregnant." The words came out of Maggie's mouth so fast that Hal wasn't sure that he heard her correctly.

"What?" Hal couldn't help but ask for her to repeat what she had just told him.

"I'm pregnant Hal. We're having a baby. You're going to be a Dad." Maggie repeated, her face expressing a look of nervousness and fear. Hal's memories of holding her hair back while she emptied her stomach, her near constant exhaustion despite all the sleep she had been getting ran through his head. Honestly, Hal was surprised he didn't even think about the possibility of her being pregnant before. Looking back on it now, it seemed so obvious.

Hal stared at his girlfriend in complete shock. While he had told her about what he wanted in the future when they went to destroy the tower over Boston almost a year ago, he thought the whole having kids part of it would happen later, not now. He never expected to have a family this early, but yet, he couldn't find himself being upset. It was everything he wanted, just happening sooner than he thought it would be.

"Hal? Please say something because you are making me very nervous right now. I know we never talked about anything like this, though we probably should have when we moved in together, but I never really thought about having a family because I never thought that's something I would want but ever since you disappeared for those five months all I could think about was how I do want that and I want it with you and now this has come up and I know this a total shock. I'm still shocked myself but I really hope you're okay with this because-" Maggie babbled until she was suddenly cut off by Hal pressing his lips against hers in a passionate kiss.

"I'm so much more than okay with this." Hal spoke gently when they pulled away so they could catch their breath.

"Yeah?" Maggie couldn't help but question.

"Yeah. We're having a baby." Hal said with a small laugh. The smile on his face was the happiest she'd ever seen and she smiled in return.

"Yeah, we are." Maggie confirmed.

 **AN** – I threw in some Tom/Anne because I haven't really done much of them in this story, or in any of my stories I don't think. They're not a couple I've done before, or one I truly hardcore cared about in the show, not like Halgie, so sorry if it's a little sloppy. I know this chapter is a little rushed, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. Only one more chapter left.


	28. A New World

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing.

 **AN** – This chapter is longer than any of the pervious chapters. It is also the last chapter in this story. Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

 _10 months later…_

Hal sat up and got off the seat when he felt the Volm space ship start to land. Throughout the last ten months, the humans and Volm had been working together to destroy the remaining Overlords. He had only been on a few of those missions, as it took over a month after he woke up in the hospital before his Dad and Anne cleared him for duty.

On the first mission he went on, they quickly discovered that while he no longer had his fast healing ability, he could still connect to the Overlords and to the skitters. When Hal told his Dad, Anne, and Kadar about it, they asked him if he could communicate with the rebel skitters since Ben and Deni no longer could. Hal didn't really like the idea of taking what was Ben's role nor did he like the idea of being a mouthpiece but there was no one else to do it.

He only went on three more missions against the Overlords before he stopped along with Maggie, who at that point was officially put on maternity leave. Hal remembered how not two days after Maggie had told him, his Dad came in and told the pair that he and Anne were engaged. It was then that they told him that they were having a baby. After Tom got over the initial shock, he hugged both of them. He still thought he was too young to be a grandparent, but was happy nonetheless.

This mission was the first Hal had been on since Maggie had been put on maternity leave over five months ago. It took two days however due to how far away the Overlord was, and because they stopped along some hospitals and pharmacies for any medical supplies they could find. While Charleston had a lot of supplies, it wasn't endless, and because of the war, no one knew how or had the equipment to continue making them.

"And we're home. Finally." Hal said with a relieved sigh once the ship landed in the city and he picked up two of the four bags filled with medical supplies they had managed to scavenge.

"We were only gone two days Hal." Ben reminded his brother as he picked up the other two bags, and together they got off the Volm ship with the other soldiers who were with them.

"Felt longer." Hal responded as they made their way through the square and the crowd of people that were always there. Since the square was the center of the city now, it was always busy, especially in the middle of the afternoon.

"I would've thought you'd like some time away. Probably get a decent night's sleep." Ben said, knowing his brother hadn't had a full night's sleep in over two months due to his newborn child.

"Not with your snoring." Hal revealed.

"One, I don't snore. Two, if I did, I doubt it would be as loud as your kid's crying." Ben denied it, which wasn't a surprise. It wasn't the first time Hal had told Ben that he was a loud snorer, but Ben refused to believe it.

"Nope, just as loud." Hal told him with a smirk.

"Shut up." Ben muttered.

"I'm going to get this stuff to Anne. You update Dad?" Hal asked. Ben nodded, handing Hal one of the bags he was carrying.

"Yup." Ben agreed as Hal slung one of the bags over his shoulder and was about to grab the other one Ben was handing him when they both heard a voice calling their names.

"Hal! Ben!" Matt's voice was immediately followed by his sudden appearance as he ran through the crowd towards them.

"Hey buddy. What are doing out of school this early?" Hal asked as he dropped a bag to wrap an arm around Matt's shoulders while his youngest brother placed his arms around his waist.

Even though it had been almost a year since Hal had died, Matt still worried greatly about his oldest brother, especially when he went on missions. When Hal had realized that Matt actually witnessed his death, he felt beyond guilty. He tried to talk to the kid about it, but it quickly became clear that this was not going to be something that would be fixed with a simple, 'I'm okay.'

"Volunteered to help you guys with whatever you were bringing back." Matt answered with a grin, a grin that Hal instantly recognized.

"Last class was math, wasn't it?" Hal questioned as Matt pulled away and gave Ben a quick hug too.

"Yup." Matt responded, slowly losing the grin as he realized that his big brother had caught on to what he was doing. For a moment, Hal didn't say anything and Matt was scared that his brother would tell him to get back to school, then Hal smirked at him.

"Well, you can help me carry these bags to the hospital then." Hal told him, offering him one of the bags he had been carrying. Matt beamed at him, grabbed the bag while Hal carried the other three and the two headed to the infirmary while Ben started making his way to their Dad's office.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

"It should be fine, just try to keep it dry and clean." Anne instructed her patient's mother while she finished doing the stitches on the little boy's head.

"Thanks Dr. Mason." The boy said as Anne stepped away from the table and started taking off her gloves. Anne smiled when she heard the little boy call her that. Even though she and Tom had been married for a few months already, being called 'Dr. Mason' still made her feel slightly giddy inside.

"No problem. Just be more careful next time." Anne told him as he hopped down and ran to his mother's side. Once they were gone, Anne started heading towards the waiting room to get a new patient when she saw Hal and Matt coming over with four large duffle bags.

"What have you guys got for me?" Anne asked as she led them over to a counter where they could organize whatever they had brought.

"All that we could find while we were busy taking down another Overlord." Hal answered as he placed the bags he was carrying on the counter, then took the one Matt was holding and put it beside the other ones.

"Better than nothing." Anne replied, then noticed that Matt was here when school was still going on.

"Matt, why aren't you in school?" The doctor asked, taking the attention off the medical supplies and putting it on the youngest Mason boy.

"Well," Matt started to try and explain to his stepmother, but Hal already figured out what had happened.

"You didn't volunteer for anything and didn't have permission to skip, did you?" Hal questioned with a knowing smirk on his face. Matt looked up at the adults sheepishly and shook his head. Anne let out a sigh, then looked up at the clock. Even if she sent Matt back to school by the time he'd get there, school would be over.

"Lucky for you, class would be over by now, so go pick up any homework that you would've missed and get busy on that." Anne ordered. If Matt had any protest to that, he wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he just nodded and started heading out of the infirmary.

"He's getting good at skipping." Hal commented as he watched his brother's retreating figure.

"Of all the things he should be learning and getting better at, skipping school is not one of them." Anne stated.

"While I never really liked school, I kinda agree with you." Hal told her, turning back to the bags and started unpacking the supplies. While he did his fair share of skipping high school before the aliens invaded, he still knew that it was important to go and learn.

"You know it's just because he's still really worried about you." Anne said, as she watched Hal unpack the bag in front of him. Even though Matt was no stranger to ditching his classes, he had gotten worse ever since the attack on Washington. Whenever Tom or Anne were by the teachers that Matt wasn't in class, they always found him with Hal.

"I know." Hal responded, not meeting his stepmother's eyes, and continued his task. It wasn't like he didn't want to talk to Anne, he liked her, he considered her a friend, but all this talking was distracting him from unpacking the bags and going to see Maggie and his daughter, Becca.

The minute he and Maggie met their daughter, they both completely loved her. Once Anne placed the baby in Maggie's arms, her name came to both of them. They had decided to wait until their baby was born before they picked the name and once they saw her, they knew exactly what to name her. Rebecca Anne Mason. When they told his Dad what her name was, he almost started crying and agreed that it suited her.

And now, getting back to Maggie and Becca was the only thing on Hal's mind. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice that Anne was staring at him.

"You look tired." Anne commented, seeing the slight dark circles under his eyes. A common sign of a new parent.

"Just haven't been sleeping good lately. All part of the package, right?" Hal explained, moving faster. Anne smiled when she realized what he was doing, working faster and refusing to get distracted so he could go back to the little girl who kept him and Maggie up all hours of the night.

"That it is. You go, I'll finish up here." Anne told him, pushing him away from the duffle bags.

"You sure?" Hal questioned as Anne started to unpack the bag.

"Yes, I'm sure. Oh, if you see Lexi by any chance, send her back up here, okay?" Anne requested.

"Got it." Hal replied, and immediately started walking towards his and Maggie's bedroom.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

As Ben approached his Dad's office, he entered the room without bothering to knock. Tom was alone, sitting at his desk. When he heard the door open, he looked up and smiled when he saw his son.

"Hey Dad." Ben said, coming over to the desk.

"You're back. Everything go okay? Where's Hal?" Tom questioned, standing up and walking around the table to give Ben a quick hug.

"Everything went good. Hal went to give Anne the medical supplies we found, and another Overlord is dead." Ben reported, knowing that unless he assured his Dad that he and Hal were okay, he'd only worry more.

"Good, good. Only ten more left, and six of them aren't in North America." Tom replied, looking back at the world maps that laid on his desk. Ben looked over to see the ten dots made with a black marker, marking the places where the remaining Overlords are.

"So, the Volm will take care of them then." Ben said, looking at the ones in Asia.

"If they haven't already. Cochise and his comrades will be in Charleston tomorrow. We'll know then." Tom responded, moving to sit back in his seat behind the desk.

"And once they're gone, you can finally quit being President, or co-President I guess." Ben said. Ever since Hal woke up and Anne confirmed he'd be okay, Tom and Marina made a deal. They would share the President job, Marina would take care of the citizens while Tom would take care of the soldiers and finish the rest of the war. And once the war was officially over, Tom would step down and Marina would become the actual President.

"That's the plan."

"Not saying Marina isn't doing a good job, and won't continue doing a good job once you step down, but you've been a good President. What will you do next?" Ben asked, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk.

"Whatever needs to get done Ben. Ending the war was one thing, rebuilding society is another. It's going to take a lot longer and a lot more work to do that." Tom informed his middle son.

"But less dangerous."

"Very true. How are you doing? Any asthma attacks?" Tom questioned, taking Ben's appearance. After Hal destroyed the power source and Ben had his spikes removed, Tom and Anne kept eye on Ben, waiting for any sign of his asthma returning. So far, there had been nothing.

"Nope. Anne says she's pretty sure my asthma is gone. Apparently, kids can grow out of it. She's pretty sure that's what happened since I don't have my spikes anymore." Ben explained.

"Good." Tom replied, sighing with relief.

"How are the transport ships coming?" Ben wondered. Once the skitters became free of the Overlords control, they revealed through Hal that they wished to head back to their own home-world. Tom contacted Cochise and asked them if it was possible that the Volm could help transport them as the skitters no longer had any access to spaceships with the power source destroyed.

"Volm are doing what they can. Alliance between the skitters and Volm is still a little rocky, but they understand the skitters were harnessed and controlled and are happy to help get them back to their own planet once they leave." His Dad answered.

"Do you think once they're gone, we'll ever see them again?" Ben asked. While it may have been weird and messed up, Ben had started to consider some of the skitters his friends, and it was strange to no longer be able to communicate with them, even though he had ten months to get used to it.

"We'll see the Volm again. They want to strike up some sort of alliance, but the skitters, I don't know. They're going to have to start all over with their technology and I highly doubt they'd be very welcome here, despite the fact they were being controlled and the fact there were some that were rebels. Why?" Tom wondered.

"I don't know, I guess I just, helping with the skitters and human fighters, felt like it was a place where I belonged. Now, I got to start all over." Ben revealed.

Tom finally looked up from the maps and papers on his desk and stared at his son. He had forgotten how hard it was for Ben to fit in because of his spikes, and how excited he was that he found a place working with the skitters and helping them work with the humans. With them gone, Ben will lose that.

"Ben, finding where you belong is something everyone goes through, whether they were harnessed or not. And it's hard for everyone. It might take a while, but you'll figure it out, and you'll have your whole family to help you." Tom tried to explain. For a minute, Ben sat there in silence, then looked back up at his Dad, offering him a half smile.

"I know. I'm going to go find Deni. See you later." Ben then left the room before his Dad could respond. Tom stared at the door, but then sighed and shook his head. It was just going to take some time for Ben to get used to the new changes. It would take everyone some time.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

Hal entered the room quietly, especially when he saw Maggie lying across the foot of their bed, fast asleep. Lexi, who was sitting beside Maggie, looked up from the cradle she had been staring into to see who had entered the room. When she saw it was Hal, she smiled.

 _Hi Hal._ Hal heard her voice in his head. He was glad she was communicating this way. Maggie hadn't slept any better than Hal had and he didn't want to risk waking her.

 _Hey Lexi. What are you doing in here?_ Hal asked, taking his semi-automatic over his shoulder, then his coat and placed them on the couch.

 _I was visiting Maggie and Becca, but Maggie fell asleep and I wanted to keep Becca company._ Lexi explained. Hal smiled and came over to kneel beside the crib which was pressed up against the end of the bed. He looked down at the infant, who was wide awake, contently sucking on her pacifier. When Hal bent over to look at her though, she instantly stared at Hal.

After seeing that his daughter was still awake, he looked over at Maggie. She hadn't moved at all which he was grateful for. She was lying peacefully on the bed, headed pillowed on her right arm. Her left hand by the edge of the crib, as if she was getting ready to reach for her daughter at any moment. Hal smiled at sight, especially at his mother's engagement on her finger.

Hal waited about a week after his Dad and Anne got married before he asked the woman he loved to marry him, though he wanted to do it much earlier. The day he was released from the hospital, Hal told his Dad about asking Maggie to marry him. Tom gave him a proud smile, then pulled a small kit from a draw in his desk. Hal had recognized it as the one his Dad had carried with him ever since they left their house in Boston. From there, he pulled out the engagement ring he had given to Rebecca, and handed it to Hal, saying that his Mom would've wanted him to have it.

After a few more moments of watching Maggie sleep, Hal turned back to Lexi, who was still staring at Becca. Ever since Lexi first saw Becca, she adored the baby and spent most of her free time with her.

 _Well, thank you for staying with them, but your Mom wants you to head to the infirmary._ Hal informed his little sister.

 _Okay._ Lexi said as she climbed off the bed. Just as she reached the door though, she turned around and looked at him. _Can I come and play with Becca tomorrow?_

 _Sure. See you later._ Hal replied, and Lexi walked out of the door. Once she was gone, Hal turned his head back to look at his daughter. Her big brown eyes under her blonde eyelashes continued to stare up at him.

"Hello sweetie. Wide awake I see." Hal whispered to his daughter who smiled wide enough that her pacifier fell out of her mouth and lifted her arms, telling him that she wanted to be picked up. Hal couldn't help but smile back as he lifted the baby out of her crib and cradled her in his arms. He placed one hand in front of her face, letting Becca grabbed one of his fingers. Once she had his finger in her grip, she let out a small laugh which made Hal's smile grow.

"Hal?" The new father looked over to the bed where the new mother was starting to sit up on the bed, looking over at them with an exhausted look in her eyes.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to wake you." Hal apologized.

"It's okay. When did you get back?" Maggie asked as Hal came over and sat down on the bed beside her.

"About an hour ago." Hal answered.

"Where did Lexi go?" Maggie wondered, just noticing that Hal's sister was no longer in the room with them.

"Anne told me to send her to the infirmary. She had stayed to watch Becca so you could sleep." Hal told her. Maggie nodded, then looked over his shoulder to look at their daughter. She had hoped that Becca was asleep already since she barely slept the night before, but she was still awake, though not for much longer from the looks of it. Her eyes were getting heavy and a yawn broke through her small lips, but she kept looking back up at Hal.

"Aw. Looks like someone stayed up waiting for you. She's a Daddy's girl already. She's going to have you wrapped around her little finger in no time." Maggie whispered in Hal's ear. Hal let out a small chuckle, but smiled at the little baby in his arms while Maggie smiled at her fiancée. Becca already had her Daddy wrapped around her finger.

"Did the mission go okay?" Maggie asked as she moved on the bed so she could lean her back against the wall.

"Yup. Another Overlord gone. Not going to be much longer until this war is officially over." Hal replied, moving so he would still be sitting beside her.

"Good." Maggie said simply. Hal looked at her, completely confused by her statement. "What?" Maggie wondered.

"Nothing, it's just, I thought you liked fighting." Hal said, remembering how happy she was when they heard that they would still be working with the Volm to destroy the Espheni after they destroyed the tower in Boston almost two years ago.

"I do, but I don't want Becca to grow up in a world like that." Maggie explained, looked back down at the little girl in Hal's arms who was now fast asleep.

Hal turned his eyes from Maggie to their daughter, and then back at Maggie. She had changed so much since the day Hal met her. He remembered the first time he saw her, coming up onto the stage in the auditorium where Pope and his group were keeping him, Karen, Tom, Anthony, and Dai. She made it very clear she was not someone you messed with, especially when he made a grab for her gun when she was escorting him out of the building.

Even to this day, Hal was somewhat surprised that that woman was the one he'd fall in love with, the one who he was going to marry, the one who became the mother of his child. Well, their story would sure be an entertaining for Becca one day. Hal grinned at the thought.

"What?" Maggie asked, seeing the sudden smile appear on his face.

"I'm just thinking about the day she's going to ask about how we met. 'Well Becky, I met you mommy when she was with a group who took us hostage. I tried to escape and she kicked my butt and put a knife to my neck and told me to never do that again. It was love at first death threat.'" Hal said in a fake adult voice as Maggie broke out into a laughing fit.

"Better story than love at first sight of jazz pants." Maggie responded which then caused Hal to start laughing. He couldn't but agree with that. Looking back down at their daughter and seeing that she was still fast asleep, he turned back to Maggie, his expression turning slightly serious.

"I love you Maggie." Hal told her.

"I love you too." Maggie said back and pressed her lips against his in kiss which he instantly returned. When they pulled away, Hal wrapped his one arm around Maggie's shoulder while she rested her head on his chest, curling her legs up against his as he relaxed with both of his girls in his arms.

 **FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS**

 _5 years later…_

Hal placed the cooler onto the picnic table. Opening it, Hal pulled out the package of frozen burgers to cook on the grill and laid it on the table. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had a hamburger, neither could Maggie. It was before the war at least, and when they had seen them in the store again, they couldn't help themselves.

It had been five years, almost to the day, when the last remaining Overlord was killed. Only a year after that, Hal, Maggie, and Becca moved out of the mall, that was the main building of Charleston, and into a house of their own. They didn't move far, only a few minutes drive away, but it was enough to give them some independence, as they didn't want to live in the same place as Hal's Dad, stepmother, and siblings. So, they moved into a small, two story house across the street from a large park which Becca completely took advantage of as she got older.

"Daddy! Look at this!" Hal turned his head to look at his five-year-old daughter. She was out by the playground, kicking around the new soccer ball that he and Maggie had gotten her a week ago.

"I'm watching." Hal told her, turning to give Becca his complete attention. Once she was sure she had her Dad's attention, she kicked the ball into the air, then started bouncing it on her knees, a trick that she had been working on ever since her parents gave her the soccer ball.

"Nice!" Hal exclaimed as he continued watching his daughter with a proud smile on his face. Becca kept it up for a few moments before the ball went too far to the left, missing her knee. Despite that though, Becca continued smiling with joy as she ran after it.

"Mama, did you see?" Hal looked over his shoulder to see his wife coming up behind him, picnic basket in one hand, and their son, Andrew, in the other. Like his sister, Andrew was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. It was hard to believe he was over a year old already.

"I did! Good job." Maggie replied, handing Hal the picnic basket so she could better hold on to Andrew, who was starting to fidget in his mother's arms.

"She's getting to be a pretty good athlete, just like her Dad." Maggie commented, coming to stand beside her husband.

"But she's as beautiful as her mother." Hal responded, giving his wife a small smile. Maggie looked over at him, smiling herself then bent down so she could set Andrew on the grass. The minute he was on the ground, he stood up on slightly shaky legs, and started walking towards his sister.

For a minute, Hal and Maggie just watched their two children. Once Becca saw her little brother coming over to her, she sat down and gently rolled the ball towards him. The ball bumped against Andrew's short legs and he giggled with delight before kicking it himself, losing his balance in the process. Maggie was about to go over to him when she saw fall flat on his bottom, but Becca was already running towards him.

Hal wrapped his arm around Maggie's shoulder, silently assuring her that they were okay. Almost the minute their daughter was born, Maggie revealed that she was a complete mama bear. She was fiercely overprotective of her children. Hal was too of course, but he hid it better than she did.

After the war had ended, Hal continued working with Charleston's military. Rebuilding society did not come without its troubles, especially with more people flooding into the city, reopening businesses and with the Volm presence that was still in the city. Maggie helped out every now and then too, being the danger seeker that she was, but ultimately, the overprotective mother in her won and she stayed home with their kids.

Maggie relaxed into Hal's side once she saw Becca rolling the ball back towards Andrew, who was still sitting on the ground. Laughing, he pushed it back to his sister with his hands.

"You know, you're kinda cute when you get all protective." Hal whispered in Maggie's ear. In response, she lifted her hand and slightly smacked his chest. He gave her a kiss on her temple, causing her to turn her head to look at him again. Just as she lifted her head so she could kiss him, the sound of a vehicle drew their attention towards the road.

Hal and Maggie turned their heads to see Tom and Anne's car coming down the road towards them, parking on the side of the road. Becca looked up and when she saw the vehicle, and jumped to her feet.

"They're here! They're here!" Becca yelled excitedly as she started running towards the car. Andrew got up to follow her, though went a lot slower.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Becca called out when she saw Anne and Tom start climbing out of the car. Hal and Maggie started making their way towards them as well, Maggie picking up Andrew along the way.

"There she is! How's my granddaughter?" Tom asked as Becca finally reached him throwing his arms around her in a tight hug which she immediately returned.

"Mama and Daddy got me a soccer ball!" Becca happily informed him as she pulled away to hug Anne, who had come over to them. Before either Anne or Tom could respond though, another person got out of the car.

"Auntie Lexi!" Becca shouted, running over to hug her aunt. Lexi looked to be about 10 or 11 now, even though she was actually six years old. After running a few tests when Hal destroyed the power source, Kadar concluded that while Lexi still did have Espheni DNA, and she and Hal could still communicate, she would age normally now, and that any other abilities that she could've had would be gone too, just like her older brother.

"Hey Dad, Anne." Hal said, giving his Dad a quick hug before giving Anne one too. Maggie gave Tom a one-armed hug since she was holding Andrew in the other. When she turned to Anne, the doctor immediately took Andrew as he giggled happily.

"Where's Matt? Don't tell me you guys actually gave him a car?" Hal asked as he gave Lexi a hug, noticing that his youngest brother was not with them. The minute Matt finally learned to drive when he was 15, he had been begging for a car of his own. Dad however insisted that if he wanted a car, he would have to pay for it himself, just Hal and Ben did. And now at almost 18, he still did not have one.

"No, we did not." Tom answered, watching Becca tell Lexi everything that happened since the last time they saw each other, which was only two weeks ago. When he looked to see Hal's still confused expression, Tom waited until the loud rumble of a motorcycle could be heard before he looked down the street.

Hal looked over to see what his Dad was staring at when he saw an old motorcycle coming down the road. Even though the driver was wearing a helmet with the visor down, Hal could still recognize his brother.

"How did he talk you guys into letting him get a motorcycle?" Hal wondered, remembering how before the invasion, and even a little after, his Dad's refusal at letting Hal own or ride a motorcycle. He didn't even like that fact that Hal had a dirt bike.

"He didn't. Came home one afternoon with it." Tom told him. Hal chuckled and shook his head. Classic Matt, act first and think about it later. Looking back towards his brother, he saw that Matt had already parked and Becca had already gone over to hug her uncle and was looking very entranced by his bike. Oh boy, Hal could already imagine what Becca was going to ask him later today.

About to ask where his other brother and his brother's fiancée was, Hal was interrupted by the dark blue jeep, already pulling into the small parking lot.

"Uncle Ben! Aunt Deni!" Lexi called out, running over to the last members of their family to arrive. Even though Ben and Deni had been dating for the last five years, they had just gotten engaged two months ago and had another month to go before they finally tied the knot.

After greeting Becca, Ben and Deni went over to Hal and Maggie, quickly giving them a hug as well. While Hal did cross paths with Ben and Deni a lot since they all still worked with the Charleston military, they didn't see Maggie or their niece and nephew as often since they moved into their own place. It was one of the many reasons why they decided to do stuff like this, set time aside for them all to be together as a family. If fighting the war taught them anything, it taught them to appreciate the family you had and to not waste the precious time you had.

Five minutes later, Tom and Hal stood by the grill, cooking up the hamburgers. Anne sat on the picnic blanket with Andrew and Maggie while they watch the rest of the family play a game of soccer.

"She's getting good." Tom commented. Hal looked up to see his daughter successfully steal the ball from Lexi and kick it past Ben and into the makeshift goal they had set up.

"Yeah. She keeps waking us up early in the morning wanting to play." Hal revealed to his Dad, looking back to his task, not wanting to burn the burgers.

"Sounds like someone I know." Tom said, remembering all the times his oldest would come running into the room with either a lacrosse stick, or a football, or a baseball. In a lot of ways, Hal's daughter was a lot like him. Besides Maggie's blonde hair, she looked exactly like him. In fact, with the blonde hair, she looked a lot like her namesake, her grandmother. Not really surprising as she was like her Dad, and her Dad was exactly like his Mom.

"You're doing good Hal. I'm proud of you." Tom revealed, looking directly at his oldest son. Hal looked over at his Dad and saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes, and he smiled.

"Thanks Dad." Hal said quietly. For a minute, they were silent but then the sound of loud giggles ended it. Tom and Hal quickly glanced over at the people sitting on the blanket, seeing Andrew laughing with delight as the ball rolled over to him.

"How is it going, with another kid in the house?" Tom asked, knowing how difficult it can quickly get from going to only having one child to take care of, to suddenly having two.

"Suddenly a lot louder. But Becca is happy about having another sibling. She's become a complete mother hen over Andrew." Hal answered.

"Reminds me of you when Ben and Matt were born. Even with Lexi a little bit too." Tom recalled.

"How is Lexi doing?" Hal asked once his Dad brought her up.

"She's good. Though, she's been dropping hints of wanting another sibling herself." Tom replied. He shot another glance over at Anne who was holding Andrew on her lap, and wondered of Anne did want to have another child. While he knew that she loved his boys as if they were own, and that she loved having a daughter, a part of her still grieved for the son she had lost. He knew that a part of her would always grieve, you will never be the same after losing a child. It made Tom feel all the more grateful and happy that he still had all of his boys and his daughter.

"As weird as that may be for Becca and Andrew, you and Anne still could." Hal responded, also seeing Anne with her grandson. She had been such a help to the parents when Becca was first born and by the time Andrew came, she had successfully become the grandparent who had a hard time not spoiling her grandchildren.

"We could. I just, feel bad that there was so much of Lexi's life that we missed out on because of her Espheni DNA." Tom revealed, watching his daughter play with her niece who was seriously only a little over a year younger than her.

"Think of it this way, you don't have to go through the terrible toddler years." Hal suggested with a smile, remembering how much trouble Rebecca was the minute she learned to walk.

"True, but we still have to go through her teen years. Not really looking forward to that." Tom informed him with a grimace.

"Our teenage years weren't that bad." Hal protested. Well, his teenage years. The invasion happened before Ben and Matt had gotten there. But even during the war as Ben became a teenager, it wasn't that bad, beside him constantly running headfirst into danger, which they didn't have to worry about anymore.

"There's a difference between teenage boy and a teenage girl Hal. And from what I've heard, I think I'm going to have Anne take care of most of those problems." The former President now teacher explained.

"Anne hasn't had a daughter either, Dad." Hal reminded him.

"No, but she was once a teenager. She'd understand it far more than I could." Tom reasoned and Hal turned to look over at his sister.

 _Lexi, when you become a teenager, promise you won't give Dad a hard time?_ Hal asked Lexi through their telepathy. Lexi looked up at her brother and after a minute, smiled as she responded.

 _I refuse to make any promises like that._ Hal smiled and shook his head. Of course she wouldn't, she was a Mason after all. Masons are completely stubborn and never make anything easy.

"What?" Tom asked when he saw the grin on his son's face.

"Nothing. But good luck." Hal told him. Tom stared at Hal for a moment, but before he could ask what just happened, Becca asked, "Is it time to eat yet?"

Hal looked down at the meat and replied, "Yes it is."

Tom handed him the plate to put the patties on while everyone else headed over to the picnic table to eat.

 **The End**

 **AN** – And this officially ends Will to Survive. I hope you all have enjoyed this story. Thank you all for your amazing reviews. I am planning on writing at least four more Falling Skies stories. Minute We Love, which is another version of Hal's capture in season 5. Blindsided, an au of what could've happened if Hal was injured instead of Maggie in season 4. The Caretaker, a one-shot of life for the Masons before the invasion. And The Fourth Mason, an au where Hal has a twin brother.

Minute We Love will be up soon. See you guys later!


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